Zoids: The New Warrior
by BlackBattousai
Summary: You've heard it all before, a new warrior joins the team, and this time the Blitz Team is in for more than they think...and way more then they can handle! CHAPTER 16 UP!
1. School Days

Yes, you heard right! I'M BAAAAAAAAACCCCCKKKKKK!!!! Actually, I'll try to keep insanity at a minimum, since this is actually a serious fic. (Keep an eye out for Metal Gear Plasma, that's gonna be humorous, and full of insanity from every possible angle, anime, or magna!) As I say, there are only a handful of serious fics by me in existence; so cut me some slack and just remember.have fun!! This is the demented wolfman signing off. Seeya! ^_^  
  
Disclaimer: This is my first Zoids fic EVER, so please cut me some slack! This is NOT a B/L fic, but something much, much better.and it includes lots of MACHINERY BEATINGS!!!!!  
  
(Breaks into evil laughter, ala Invader Zim) MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!  
  
Anyway, I don't own Zoids, yada yada yada. (Falls asleep due to boredom)  
  
Chapter 1-School Days  
  
Morning crept over the desert landscape, signaling the beginning of a new day. As sunshine crawled over the barren wasteland, it hit the large metal structure known as the Toros base. However, it is not the building itself we are concerned with, but the people inside the building.  
  
As sunlight crept through the separate windows of the base, our attention becomes focused on one of the windows all the way in the corner of the base. The sunlight peeked through the window, illuminating the room in mere seconds, causing a figure to stir under the covers of a small bed. The figure threw the covers off of itself, opening its green eyes sleepily.  
  
As Bit Cloud awoke that morning, only one thought found its way through his mind:  
  
Mondays.I hate Mondays.  
  
As he stood up to his full height, he stretched out his arms and gave out a loud yawn. He looked at the clock next to the head of his bed, which read 7:01 AM.  
  
He needn't let his mind wander, for he had to get ready for school. Yes, that's right, accomplished zoid warrior Bit Cloud, member of the infamous Blitz Team, which is now member of the illustrious Class S, has to attend school like everyone else. Since zoid battling was only made to take up the time necessary for summer vacation, all zoid warriors that hadn't yet made it out of school had to finish it like everybody else.  
  
The thoughts of high school did not settle well with him.  
  
The main reason I had become a junk dealer in the first place was to get away from school.He thought coldly, going to the bathroom, and taking his shower. He remembered what he had said to Leena that day that they met, when he was captured.  
  
"Responsibility?! Ha! I try to avoid that whenever I can, babe!"  
  
He chuckled to himself, relishing in old memories, turned off the water, and dried himself off.  
  
Turning on a nearby radio, he brushed his teeth, now with a renewed and fresh personality. He stepped out of the bathroom, and into his room to fetch some clothing. He returned, and slipped into a pair of dark green and brown shorts in a camouflage pattern, and a red sleeveless T-shirt. He left his blonde hair in its usual spiked-puffiness, just the way he liked it. He smiled into the mirror, and winked.  
  
"Handsome devil." He said to himself as he walked out. He sauntered on into the kitchen, to find only Brad and Leena there, with Jamie cooking, of course.  
  
"Mornin' everybody!" Bit said enthusiastically.  
  
"What the hell took you so long?" Leena asked, sipping some tea.  
  
"I woke up later than everybody else, okay?" Bit said, getting slightly agitated.  
  
"Well, in any case, breakfast is ready, so sit down." Jamie said, divvying up all the scrambled eggs in the pan between the four of them.  
  
"Hey, where's Doc at?" Bit asked, noticing the sudden absence of Leena's father.  
  
"Remember when he went to Romeo City yesterday to check out that new zoid he heard about?" Leena asked, munching on some of her breakfast.  
  
"Oh yeah, right! I forgot about that."  
  
"Hey, we gotta get going!" Jamie said, looking at his watch. He got up, and grabbed his backpack.  
  
"Have fun at school, kiddies." Brad mused, smirking and sipping his coffee. Since Brad was a couple years older than Bit, he needn't let his focus waver from his calling, zoid battles. He didn't have to attend school like Bit, Leena or Jamie.  
  
"Hardy har har." Bit said, rolling his eyes.  
  
"Brad, shut it!" Leena glared, squinting her eyes to make her fury more known.  
  
"Okay, okay, Jesus.no need to get all offensive." Brad said, his mouth curling into a bigger smirk.  
  
"YOU!!" Leena fumed, balling her fist, until Bit grabbed her shoulders from behind, calming her down.  
  
"Hey, we've gotta get goin'." Bit said, chuckling.  
  
".Fine. YOUR beating will be postponed until later.enjoy your last moments on Earth." Leena growled, grabbing her backpack.  
  
"Ohhhh!! I'm shakin'!" Brad shouted, holding up his arms and rolling his eyes in sarcasm.  
  
Bit decided now would be the best time to leave, seeing as Leena was about to blow a fuse.  
  
He quickly ushered them out of the building, and into the hanger where his jeep was parked. He jumped in, and started it up, revving up the engine in pure satisfaction. He relished in the deep, loud howl it let roar through the large hanger where their zoids were parked. He let out a howl of joy, and drove off into the morning sun.  
  
It took them twenty minutes to reach their school, Rising Sun High (A/N: I know, name sucks, right?).  
  
"Seeya at lunch, guys." Bit said as he turned to walk off.  
  
"Seeya!" They both said, walking in different directions.  
  
Bit sighed, and walked off toward his locker.  
  
He noticed a boy about his age leaning on the locker next to his. He had brown hair that flowed down to his neck, with matching brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin. He was about an inch taller than he, and was wearing a pair of worn out jeans, and a blue T-shirt that had the Superman logo on it (A/N: the big "S" one!)  
  
"Hey Nikita. What's up?" Bit asked, smiling at his friend.  
  
"Heh, the sky. What else?" Nikita said, chuckling.  
  
"Hey, too true, man." Bit said, popping his locker open with relative ease.  
  
Nikita chuckled again, and also popped open his locker, also with ease.  
  
"So, find any good parts these days, Nikita?" Bit inquired, taking his books out of the small shelf in his locker.  
  
"Well, I've been to a couple zoid battlefields recently, and found some good stuff, but all the other junk dealers got there before I did and got the best parts." He admitted dutifully, removing his books, and stowing his CD Walkman in his pocket.  
  
"Ahh don't worry about it, Nik. You'll find something eventually." Bit said, smiling.  
  
"Hey, thanks, man." Nikita said, smiling, shutting his locker.  
  
"So, what are you going to do with all those zoid parts, exactly?" Bit asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Well, uh, I was thinkin' of becoming a zoid warrior when I get outta school, so I'm findin' all the best parts now so I can modify a mediocre zoid into a great machine." Nikita said, slightly blushing.  
  
"So, you want to become a zoid warrior too, huh?" He asked, smirking.  
  
"Uh.yeah." Nikita blinked, obviously in surprise that Bit was interested in listening. "I mean, I've always wanted to do something with my life, and piloting a zoid seemed like a good answer. My mom said that she'd let me fight as long as I made sure not to kill myself." He said, peeking into Bit's locker.  
  
He saw the pictures that Bit had posted up in his locker of him and the Liger Zero. All the pictures of the Liger were of the different transformations. One was of Jager, one was of Schnider, and one was of Panzer.  
  
"Hey, that's your team right?" He asked, pointing at another picture. In the picture were Bit, Leena, Brad, Jamie, and Doc, all standing in front of the Liger Zero, the Gun Sniper, the Raynos, and the Shadow Fox, which were all somehow, fitted into the shot.  
  
"Yep, that's the Blitz Team, with all of our zoids of course." Bit said proudly.  
  
"Oh! That reminds me!" Nikita said as he backed away from Bit's locker. "I heard they got a couple of simulators in the gym, and are going to let anyone who wants to become a zoid warrior test their skills! Is that sweet or what?"  
  
Finally! Some time to test my skills! It's about time I got to fight in a zoid battle again.even if it's only a simulated one! Bit thought in delight.  
  
"Hey, whaddya say we do that during lunch, huh?" Bit asked, smirking at the challenge.  
  
"Sure, let's do it!" Nikita whooped happily.  
  
And so, Bit couldn't wait until lunch (more so than just the food, which actually wasn't that bad).  
  
Well, that's it! Chapter 2 will be up soon! And thank you to Dark Spiner for my first review on FF.Net ever! I know it was twisted.I'm a twisted person.heh heh. 


	2. Mad Skillz

Chapter 2-Mad Skillz  
  
"Hey, Leena!" Bit exclaimed across the cafeteria to his dear friend.  
  
Leena only looked up, and waved for him to come over to the table.  
  
"Hey, Bit, where's your lunch?" Jamie asked, noticing Bit possessed no food.  
  
"You had better not be planning to steal any of my food, Bit." Leena growled in a threatening tone, shielding her food from him.  
  
"Actually, I was wondering if you guys could come to the gym with me and Nikita." Bit said, not paying any attention to Leena's threat.  
  
"Why the gym?" Jamie asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.  
  
"Well, Nikita told me that the school put in a couple of zoid simulators down in the gym, and anyone whose willing to miss their lunch can go, and test their skills out. Do you guys wanna come with?" He asked, pointing behind him.  
  
"Well, sure." Leena said, smiling. "I guess I could do without lunch for ONE day.besides, I'm really outta shape, and I need to get myself back up to par."  
  
She eagerly got up from her spot, and scarfed down the last bit of food on her tray. Both of them started on their way to the gym.  
  
"Hey Jamie, you coming?" Bit called over his shoulder.  
  
"Uh, sure!" Jamie said, grabbing his tray, throwing it away in the nearby trashcan. He quickly dashed after them.  
  
"Hey Bit, where's Nikita?" Leena asked, looking around the cafeteria to try and spot Bit's friend.  
  
"He should be downstairs waiting for us." He said, sticking his hands in his pockets, and proceeding down the stairs that led to the gym.  
  
Indeed, Nikita was waiting for them. He stood outside the entrance of the gym with a wide smile on his face, his brown eyes twinkling with delight.  
  
"Hey, Bit. You guys ready to be blown away?" He said, rubbing his hands together in delight.  
  
"Yeah, right!" Bit chuckled.  
  
"Prepare to be destroyed." Leena said, her mouth curling into a psychotic grin.  
  
"Heh, you're on." Nikita said, opening the door for them.  
  
Before walking in himself, he put his hand in his pocket, and pulled out a small set of headphones, connected to his CD Walkman in his pocket.  
  
Good thing I brought this with me.  
  
As they walked in, Bit gave a small whistle in approval. Both the simulators (There were only two) were grouped in the center of the gym. Bit had noticed that these particular simulators were the exact same ones used by the ZBC (Zoid Battle Commission) to train their zoid pilots in the military and para-military forces.  
  
"Wow, looks like the Commission must really want some fresh blood in the ranks." Leena said in awe as they all moved toward the closest machine.  
  
"Hey, hold on there!" A voice said, freezing them in their tracks.  
  
Bit turned around to see whom it was. It was their gym teacher, Mr. Pantaloni, with a clipboard in his hands.  
  
"I can't let you all on at once. First, I need your names, and then I'll pair you up into matches."  
  
"Can't you just let us line up at separate machines and fight whoever happens to be our opponent?" Bit pleaded.  
  
Mr. Pantaloni shook his head. "Nope. Can't do that. Now, just give me your names."  
  
"Bit Cloud." He said, grinding his teeth.  
  
"Leena Toros."  
  
"Jamie Masagi."  
  
"Nikita Armstrong."  
  
"Hey, don't forget me!" A voice shouted from behind them.  
  
"Oh no.not now." Leena groaned, gripping her forehead in pain.  
  
Harry Champ eagerly ran up to them, mainly eyeing Leena.  
  
"Harry, what rock did you crawl out from under?" Bit asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Ha, ha, ha. Very funny, Bit." Harry growled, glaring daggers at him with his eyes.  
  
"Actually, it was pretty funny." Nikita said, nodding in confirmation. "Yep. It sure was-"  
  
"Enough! The future King refuses to listen any more of this banter!" Harry shouted.  
  
"Ooooo! He said 'banter!' Harry finally can speak proper English!" Leena said, rolling her eyes sarcastically.  
  
"Mr. Pantaloni, put down 'Harry Champ' as one of the participants." He ordered.  
  
Mr. Pantaloni wrote the name down, and thought for a minute.  
  
"Okay, the battles will go as follows: First, it'll be Nikita versus Harry, second, it'll be Jamie versus Bit, and Leena will fight the winner of whichever fight she chooses." He said after much thought.  
  
"Oh!!! I wanted to destroy Harry!" Leena cursed, snapping her fingers in disappointment.  
  
"Calm down my sweet, you may get your chance to fight your true love head- on." Harry said, smirking at Nikita with confidence. "Get ready to lose, trash collector."  
  
Nikita's eyebrow twitched in anger at that comment. "T-trash collector?" He stammered, his newfound rage apparently showing itself.  
  
"Yeah, I'll send ya back to the junk yards cryin' for your mommy!" Harry shouted triumphantly.  
  
"J-junk yards?" he repeated, his fury now fully known to the entire group. "Well, why don't you and I settle the score right now?! Then we'll see who's the damn 'junk dealer' you rich prissy-headed spoiled brat!!!" He bellowed, balling his fist in anger, and shaking it violently.  
  
Harry smirked in joy, and jumped into the simulator.  
  
"Hey, Nikita! Good luck, and keep a clear head!!" Bit yelled after him as he jumped into simulator's cockpit.  
  
"Unidentified warrior, state your name and age." A computerized voice said. Nikita recognized the voice as the judge robot for the zoid battles he had seen on the television.  
  
"Nikita Armstrong, age 18." He answered coldly.  
  
"Please select your zoid." The mechanized voice commanded. A menu popped up in front of his vision, and he quietly cycled through them, taking in their strengths and weaknesses.  
  
Wow! They've even got Hell Cats with stealth shields! What else to they have here? Whoa! They've got data on the Liger Zero, the Raynos, the Gun Sniper and the Shadow Fox! He thought in glee. Then one particular zoid caught his attention.  
  
.Hmm.this zoid looks like a combination of the Shadow Fox and the Lightning Seix! But, I've never heard of THIS model before. He looked at the statistics with interest, and saw its name. The "Black Jackal", huh? Well, lets take a look at its armaments, shall we?  
  
He quietly cycled through its weapons list. Let's see here.its got the pair of standard 50mm Lightning Seix long-range rifles, a pair of shoulder- mounted high-powered 105mm AP cannons, a smoke discharger, a pair of high- frequency AP blades, a couple of side-mounted Weasel unit missile launchers, and.  
  
He noticed something else. What the hell are "Chaff dischargers?" Also, another puzzling thing.I see the LIST of armaments, but where the hell are they on the zoid? The only weapons I see are the standard 50mm Lightning Seix rifles! He saw another detail that startled him. "Only a prototype?!" Why the hell is it even available?!  
  
"Well, have you made your decision yet, trash collector?" Harry snickered in glee.  
  
Well, that settles it! Nikita thought evilly. Sure, I may not no how to bring out the fullest potential, or use the weapons systems correctly, or even know if it'll work, but who the hell cares? It's only a stupid simulation anyway. Besides, I need to show this rich bastard whose boss!  
  
He quietly sighed, collecting his thoughts, calming his fury, and putting the headphones over his ears. He hit the play button, and went to his one of his favorite songs, "Come Out and Play"  
  
"Alright, lets do it!" He bellowed, selecting the zoid.  
  
"Black Jackal prototype selected." The computerized voice said. His vision was shifted into that of a zoid cockpit, which he realized was the cockpit of the zoid he was in!  
  
He saw Harry up ahead in the simulated desert territory. He had chosen the Shadow Fox as his weapon of choice.  
  
"Oh, so you're too lazy to even use your OWN zoid now? You've got to steal other people's, huh?" Nikita asked in mock amazement.  
  
"Hey, shut up, junk dealer! I'm Harry Champ, a man destined to be king! You have no right to talk to me like that!" Harry bellowed in fury.  
  
Just when Nikita was going to throw back another insult, the judge capsule slammed down to earth from the sky. It rose out from the ground, and the hatch opened, revealing the judge.  
  
"Warning, warning! The area within a twelve-mile radius is a designated zoid battlefield! Only registered competitors and personnel may enter! Warning! All others must leave the area immediately!" The judge swiveled around, surveying the scene. "Harry Champ and the Shadow Fox versus Nikita Armstrong and the Black Jackal prototype model A-1. Battle mode: Zero, one, zero nine! Ready.FIGHT!!"  
  
"Prepare to lose, junk collector!!" Harry bellowed as he charged the Shadow Fox toward Nikita's zoid. Somehow, Harry had shouted loud enough that Nikita had actually heard him over the music.  
  
"I don't think so!" He bellowed as he charged toward Harry.  
  
As he charged toward him, he felt a couple of triggers in the grooves of the controls, that were very finely shaped and rounded, made to fit hand grooves.  
  
Hmm.weapon controls.  
  
"Alright! Eat this!!" He bellowed, squeezing one of them. He heard something deploy out of the shoulders of his zoid, and a targeting crosshairs appeared. He locked on to the Shadow Fox, waited for that satisfying beep to tell him his target was locked, and depressed the triggers again, this time with more force.  
  
Two large blue laser beams lanced out from his zoid's shoulders and slammed into the Shadow Fox with tremendous force, knocking the zoid over, melting off both legs on the right side of the zoid, and freezing the computer system.  
  
"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is.Nikita Armstrong and the Black Jackal prototype!"  
  
"Noooooo!!!!! How could the future King lose to this amateur?!!" Harry cried in anguish.  
  
"Hahahahahaha! I am the greatest!!!" Nikita whooped loudly, shutting off his CD Walkman. The simulator shut down, and the two competitors stepped out.  
  
Nikita looked refreshed and victorious, with a wide ear-to-ear grin on his face. There was not even a hint of the rage that had been there barely five minutes before.  
  
Harry looked like a former shell of himself, no longer confident and pompous like he usually was. His face was sullen and shared the defeated look in his eyes.  
  
"So, who's the junk collector now, amateur?" Nikita said, stretching out the pronunciation of "amateur."  
  
Harry just groaned a response, and slinked out of the gym like a depressed snake.  
  
Bit, Leena, and even Jamie, on the other hand, were all surprised and even stunned.  
  
"H-he put Harry away in barely ten seconds!" Bit said in awe.  
  
"B-b-b-but.how?" Leena sputtered, desperately trying to comprehend the situation. "He only fired two shots! I didn't those cannons a second before he fired them!!"  
  
"I dunno how he did it.but he did it." He said, placing a hand on his hip and smiling joyfully. He may have more skill than he originally thought.he'll be a great zoid warrior yet!  
  
"Hey guys! How'd I do?" The young man whooped in delight. "'Cause I'm feelin' really good right now!"  
  
"Nikita, that was great! I've never seen someone adapt to a zoid's weapon systems so quickly! It's almost like you were destined to pilot that zoid!" Bit said.  
  
Yeah, it was a great match.for a fluke. Jamie thought skeptically.  
  
"Thanks! But, I don't think I'll get to pilot it anytime soon." He said dutifully. "The computer said that it was a prototype zoid."  
  
"Aww, don't worry about that! I'm sure you'll find it sooner or later!" Bit said enthusiastically.  
  
"Okay, the next battle is Bit and Jamie!" Mr. Pantaloni shouted.  
  
Bit and Jamie both nodded toward each other, and entered the simulators.  
  
"Nikita, can I ask you a question?" Leena asked suddenly.  
  
"Huh? What is it?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the violet-eyed girl.  
  
"I was wondering, how exactly did you do that?" She asked, smiling in expectancy.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"How'd you nail Harry in barely ten seconds?"  
  
"Well, I just hit the triggers on my weapons controls, and shot the bastard!" He said, relating the ease of it.  
  
"But, ya see, that's what's bugging me.I didn't see those two long-range rifles fire when you shot at him. Also, those blasts didn't look like they came from those two 50mm long-range rifles. They looked like they came from." Leena put a finger on her mouth, and thought for a minute. "From a pair of synchronized 105mm Armor-Piercing Cannons?" She asked, smiling.  
  
"H-h-how'd you know?" He stammered, trying to comprehend the situation.  
  
"Well, I recognized the rounds fired when the cannons launched them, and I saw the cannons themselves when they were deployed for that brief couple of seconds.it takes a good eye to catch that." She said, smiling. "After all, in order to modify my Gun Sniper to the level it's at now, don't ya think I would've looked at a few other weapons first?"  
  
"Good point."  
  
"Battle over! Battle over! The winner is, Bit Cloud and the Liger Zero Panzer!"  
  
"Bit, that wasn't fair! You can't call that a good win if you used the Panzer! That thing's got too much armor! It was hardly fair!" Jamie whined as they stepped out of the simulators.  
  
"Aww, c'mon Jamie! It was just a simulation! Besides, you didn't turn into the Wild Eagle anyway. You weren't up to your maximum skill I guess."  
  
"I guess so." Jamie said, crossing his arms.  
  
"Okay now, Leena, choose who you want to face." Mr. Pantaloni said, checking off a mark on his clipboard.  
  
Leena thought for a moment, the smirked mischievously, looking at Bit, then at Nikita, and back at Bit, and then back at Nikita. "I'll face Nikita." 


	3. Mad Skillz II

Another chappy!  Yay! ^_^  Okay, for all those B/L fans out there…you will be sorely disappointed. But, OH WELL!

And here it goes…chappy #3…

Chapter 3-Mad Skillz (Part II)

"Okay then, Nikita and Leena, get in the simulation chambers." He ordered.

Nikita shifted uncomfortably, and walked in, while Leena quietly smirked even more, and proceeded into the other one.

"Just to tell you Nikita, those double cannons won't work on me…" Leena said as she started up the simulation.

_Okay, this is the deciding factor…if I beat Leena; I'll become a zoid warrior.  If not, there's always next year… He thought grimly. __Guess I'll have to wait…_

He calmly sighed, putting his headphones on, playing the song, "Genocide."  He quietly selected the Black Jackal zoid, and waited for the simulation to load up.

"Nikita Armstrong and the Black Jackal prototype A-1 versus Leena Toros and the modified GunSniper.  Battle mode: Zero, one, zero, nine!  Ready…FIGHT!"

Leena automatically began opening fire on him right as the battle began.  Nikita nimbly dodged every bullet and missile as he tried to get in a little closer.

"Oh no ya don't!  WEASLE UNIT TOTAL ASSUALT!" she bellowed as she fired a massive barrage of missiles and bullets toward the Black Jackal.

Nikita swerved the zoid out of the way of all the deadly projectiles, and swiftly pushed a button on his weapons controls.  He targeted the GunSniper in his scope, and pulled the trigger a couple of times.  This time, the two standard rifles above him fired multiple shots, all narrowly missing her zoid, and kicking up dust.

"Where is he?!  I can't see a thing!" She yelled, looking left and right for her target.

Suddenly, something lit up on his panel.  It was a diagram of his zoid, but the claws had been highlighted.  Underneath the diagram, it flashed the words "Strike Laser Claw" over and over again.

"Strike Laser Claw?  The only zoids I've heard of even making that move are the Liger Zero and the Shadow Fox!  Oh well!" He said, dismissing the thought.

He charged towards Leena's unsuspecting GunSniper, and heard the claws of the zoid charging up, and saw the light of their orange glow underneath his view.

"STRIKE LASER CLAW!" He bellowed, bringing the right paw of the zoid down on the large Vulcan gun attached to the left shoulder of the GunSniper.

"Oh noooooo!"  Leena screamed as the gun was cut through, and the claw came down on the back of the GunSniper's "neck" area, freezing the cockpit system. "Dammit!"

"Battle over!  Battle over!  The winner is…Nikita Armstrong and the Black Jackal prototype A-1!" the judge said as the simulator shut down.

"Yeah!  I won again!" Nikita said as he stepped out of the simulation.

"Hey, good match, Nikita." Leena said, extending her hand to him.

"Thanks.  You did great, too." He said, shaking her hand.

"Now, tell me that wasn't skill…" Bit beamed, looking at Jamie with pride.

"Huh?" Jamie asked in confusion.

"I know that you thought it was a fluke.  I could tell." He snickered.

"Huh?!" Jamie shouted, quickly turning crimson in the face with embarrassment. "Okay, that one was all skill…"

"Really?!" Nikita exclaimed in excitement.

"Hey, I've got an idea…since there are only three weeks of school left, why don't you and I look for a zoid, huh?" Bit asked, lifting his eyebrows up and down slyly.

"Why?" Nikita asked in confusion.

"Well, I think I'm gonna ask Doc if you can be on the team!"

"REALLY?!!!  THANKS A LOT!!!" He bellowed in joy. "THIS ROCKS!!!" He yelled as he ran out of the gym in pure joy.

"Bit, are you sure this is a good idea?" Leena asked, watching the young man leave. "I mean, this was just a simulation…"

"I'm positive, Leena." Bit said seriously, nodding in confirmation.  "There's just something about him that says to me, 'Bit, get this kid a zoid and let him be on the team, or you'll pass up a great opportunity!'  It's like my sixth sense or something…"

"I hope your right, Bit…"

**RavenZERO:** That's all ya get! (Dodges all of the flames thrown at him) That's it!  DIE!!! 

(He grabs a sawed-off shotgun and jumps on top of his Blade Liger. He starts firing random shots in random directions.)

You guys better leave, this may take awhile…


	4. Zoid Hunters

HAHA! I got chapter 4 up!  YAY!  GO ME!!

Naomi: Are you always this stupid and hyper?

You must be the stupid one, if you're asking me that question…

Naomi: Hey, I resent that!

Yeah, and I'm the Prince of Whales…

Naomi (raising an eyebrow in confusion): Aren't you?

(Whispering) Hey, do you want me to get arrested?!

Naomi: well…I guess so…

Fluck you, too. Uh, anyway, on with the fic!

Chapter 4-Zoid Hunters

Two weeks later… 

As the light of dusk creeped through the windows of Nikita's home, it illuminated the map of the region lying on the kitchen table, and the two figures hunched over it in concentration.

"Bit, we've searched just about every zoid dealer on the planet, and we still haven't found it.  Let's just get a Shield Liger or something…" Nikita sighed in exhaustion.

"Not yet, Nik." Bit said.  "All the dealers we went to said that the Black Jackal had been a special model of the Lightning Saix that had been discontinued five years ago, right?"

"Yeah…they all said it never made it past the testing stage, and that only about three were actually finished. How does that help us in any way?" He asked in agitation.

"Well, see this forest here?" Bit said, pointing to a large forest about six kilometers away from the Toros base.

"Yeah…all the junk dealers I know call it the 'Promise Lands…'"

"So, why do they call it the Promise Lands, huh?" Bit asked, expecting him to know the answer.

Nikita shrugged in confusion, causing Bit to sigh in exasperation.

"Well, Nikita, the rumor is that a lot of major zoid battles used to go on in that forest, but the ZBC set it aside six years ago as a nature preserve since more areas around it were becoming prime locations for zoid battles. After that, however, the ZBC had also used it as a depot for testing new types of zoids to be mass-produced, and then abandoned it about three years ago. That left all the parts there alone to be collected by local junk collectors like you and me.  So, rumor has it that a lot of former zoid warriors just dumped their zoids there, without any intention of selling them, and the ZBC also just dumped the rest its parts here, never even picking them up."

"So, you think that…we'll find the zoid there?" Nikita said, finishing his thought.

"Bingo."

"Well, the chances of us finding this zoid are slim to none, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to look…"

"Exactly what I was thinking."

"Hey big brother!" Said a small voice behind them.

"Huh?  Oh, what is it Mark?" Nikita asked, looking over at his thirteen year-old brother.  His brother was much smaller than Nikita, and had short black hair and green eyes.

"Mom says its time for dinner." Said the younger boy.

"Okay, thanks, Mark.  You can leave now." He said, waving his hand at his brother.

"Whatever." He said, walking out.

"Okay, whaddya say we search after dinner?" Bit asked, smirking joyfully.

"Sure."  He said, getting up to leave.

They both walked into the kitchen, to find his brother already seated, and plates of hot food on the table.

"Oh, Bit, are you staying for dinner?" Nikita's mother asked.

"Um…yeah, sure!" He smiled, and sat down at the table.  He smelled the food, and automatically started to drool.  "Mmm…smells good Mrs. Armstrong…"

"Please, call me Jan, Bit." She said, sitting down at the table.

"Okay…Jan." Bit said with a little difficulty.

They all eagerly began digging in, eating like ravenous wolves until Nikita finally spoke up.

"Hey, mom, can me and Bit take the jeep and drive to the Promise Lands?" He asked innocently.

"May I ask why?" His mother asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"We just want to comb the forest for a zoid, that's all!" He said defensively. "Bit said that a lot of zoid battles used to go on there, but it's a nature reserve now, so there's still a lot of unclaimed parts and even zoids!"

"So you two are going there in hopes of finding that zoid that Nikita has been looking for?" She finished, looking at both the boys skeptically.

"Yep, that's it." He said innocently. "Please?" He added, getting a puppy-dog look in his eyes.

"Oh…you know I hate it when you give me that look…" His mother chuckled.  "Fine, after dinner, you two can go out and comb the forest for a zoid."

"Alright!" Nikita whooped, jumping up, knocking the chair down.  When he noticed that everyone else was staring at him, he quietly sat back down, his face a shade of crimson.

"Thanks Jan." Bit said, swallowing a mouthful of steak.

"Don't worry about it, Bit.  I already know that you two were going to ask Mr. Toros if you can join the Blitz Team, and its been little Nikita's dream to pilot a zoid, much less be on a team as famous as yours!"

"Hey, I'm not little!" Nikita yelled furiously. "Mark's the little one…" He said, ruffling his brother's hair.

"Hey, get off!" He screamed, hitting his hand away.

And that's the way the rest of dinner went, until Nikita and Bit walked outside to get the jeep.

"Man, just think if we find that zoid…" Nikita said, a happy glow in his eyes.

"I think we'll find it." Bit said, jumping into the passenger side.

"I hope your right…" He said, starting the ignition, and turning the radio dial to a favorite station.

"92.3?" Bit asked curiously.

"K-Rock." Nikita answered, jacking up the volume. "What else?"

Nikita quietly revved the engine, and slammed his foot on the gas, causing the car to surge forward and off into the distance.

It took them twenty minutes to reach the "Promise Lands", and actually start combing the forest for "the zoid."  The search took their full attention, and they kept their senses fully alert.

Three hours had passed, and it was now past nightfall.  They had stopped the jeep in a small clearing, and were studying a map of the reserve by flashlight.

"Bit, I don't think we're going to find it.  Let's just go home.  'Sides, I think Doc is worried about you…" Nikita said, sighing in exasperation.

"Not yet Nik.  We still have to search this area here." Bit said, pointing to a small area near a small creek that wound its way through the reserve.

"Bit, I **seriously doubt that we're gonna find it there…" He said doubtfully.**

Bit only waved his hand at him in dismissal. "Whatever."

Nikita shrugged, and drove toward the area Bit had specified.

An hour later, Nikita had told Bit to take over so he could take a little catnap.  He had a dream tuned to the song currently on the radio (Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down), and smiled in happiness.

Another hour later… 

"Nikita!  Nikita!  You alright?!" Bit's voice shouted.

Nikita mumbled something softly.  His head was swirling in darkness.  His vision slowly returned to focus.

Bit was standing above him.  He was soaking wet, and his normally spiked hair was matted down.  Nikita looked up into the sky.  It was darker then it had been before, and it was pouring rain above them.

"Huh?  Wha…what happened?" He mumbled, getting up off the ground.  A huge pain shot through his entire back and neck area as he got to his feet.

"A tree fell over in the road and I didn't see it in time to avoid it.  Car went off the road and we got thrown out of the car.  Luckily, you were asleep, so you didn't feel anything…"

"Yeah, but I feel somethin' now, that's for sure…" Nikita moaned, cracking his spine back in place.  He grabbed his head by the sides, and cracked his neck on both his left and his right sides.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me…" Bit started.

"What is it, Bit?" He asked, sitting down on a log and ringing out his brown hair.

Bit paced back and forth nervously, sighed, and began. "I found the zoid."


	5. Enter The Jackal

Wassup?!!!! I wrote two chappys in one day!  ALRIGHT!!  MAJOR SUGAR HIGH!  YEEAAAAAA!!

Chapter 5- Enter the Jackal

"WHAAAAAT?!!!!" Nikita bellowed in surprise. "You found it?!!! How?! When?!"

"Just about ten minutes ago…it's in the clearing beyond those trees over there…" Bit said, pointing off toward the left.

Nikita howled in joy, and dashed toward the left in a tantrum of happiness.

As he quickly tore through the bushes and trees, he let out a yell of happiness.

_'There it is!' Nikita thought in joy._

The zoid itself was literally covered in moss and vines, but what little of the zoid's color he could see was black with red trim.  The zoid was shaped just like it had been in the simulator, like a cross between the Shadow Fox and the Lightning Seix, shaped sleeker than the Fox but a little bulkier than the Seix.  He noticed that there was a double-barreled 50mm rifle on the top, and he noticed that there were small, black guards on the "paws" of the zoid.

"Wow!  This is so cool!!!" Nikita shouted happily.

"So, get in the cockpit already!" Bit said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Nikita yelled again in joy, and silently climbed into the cockpit.

The cockpit smelled like stale air and rusty metal, stinging his nostrils.  He sat down into the antique seat, kicking up lots of dust, and hit a few random buttons, somehow bringing the zoid to life.  It let out a mechanized howl, shaking the forest with its fury.

Howdy, there… It roared softly.  The zoid's roar sounded almost…_human…_

"Huh?!  What the hell?!  How can I understand you?!"

You and I share a mental connection, somethin' not many people have…you must be my chosen pilot…

"Huh?  What are you talking about?"

You're the dude that was destined to pilot me.  Duh.

"So, we're partners then?" Nikita asked.

Yeah, I jus' said, "Duh", didn't I?  I think that maybe your friend that pilots the Liger Zero was right…

"How do you know about Bit and the Liger?"

Zero and me met awhile back.  We were good compadre's, but I doubt he 'members me now… It gave a soft growl that sounded like a laugh.

"Hey, Nikita!  Why don't you head to the Toros base with the Jackal?  I'll follow ya in the jeep!" Bit shouted from the ground.  Somehow, he had managed to get the jeep back on the small road it had been on before.

[Okay Bit, I'm headin' out!] He said over the comm. [Wait a second!  Which way is the base again?]

"Its about six kilometers that way!" He yelled in exasperation, pointing north. "Ya can't miss it!"

[Thanks!  Seeya at the base!]

And with that, he dashed the zoid towards the Toros Base.

Yay!  Nikita got the zoid! I'm so good!


	6. New Recruit

Ha!  I got this chapter up!  GO ME!!  HAAA!! Anyway, uh, here it is!

Chapter 6- The New Recruit

"Leena!  Do you know where Bit is?" Doc asked in concern.  It was nearly ten o'clock, and Doc was getting slightly worried.

"No, Dad, I haven't seen him since school ended." She said.

"Hmm...I wonder where that boy could be…?" Doc asked himself in curiosity.

"Doc!" Jamie yelled, bursting into the room.  He had obviously run there, since the smaller boy was panting like the devil.

"What is it, Jamie?"

"There's an unidentified zoid heading this way!  I dunno whose piloting it, but they're obviously coming here!"

"Well, what's so bad about that?"

"Well, we're in the middle of the desert!  The only people that come here aside from our team are Naomi, Leon, Harry, or the Backdraft Group!"

"Hmm…okay then.  Leena, get Brad go meet this 'mystery zoid' and find out who the hell it is." Doc said. "What kind of zoid was it, Jamie?"

"That's the oddest thing!"  I have absolutely no clue!  The computer couldn't get any type of fix on who it is!  The zoid doesn't even show up in the directory, almost as if it doesn't exist!"

Doc thought for a minute, and ran to the comm unit. "Are you two ready yet?" He bellowed into the comm.

[This is Leena. I'm all set.]

[This is Brad.  The Fox is ready to roll.]

"Okay, good, just promise me you'll be careful!"

[Why?  What's goin' on?] Brad asked.

"Well, Jamie just informed me that this is a new type of zoid, which means…"

[Dr. Layon…] Leena and Brad said in unison.

[That guy's really starting to annoy me…] Leena growled. "I'm gonna kill whoever that pilot is!!" She muttered to herself, making sure not be heard over the comm.

Both of them silently readied their weapons.  Just as Leena got a target lock on the unidentified zoid, her comm began bursting with activity.

[Wait you guys!  Don't shoot!] A voice said over the comm suddenly.

_That voice sounds familiar... Leena thought suddenly. [Bit, is that you?!]_

[Yeah, it's me, but I'm not in the zoid!  I'm drivin' the jeep next to it!] He said.

She silently zoomed in on a little speck next to the unidentified zoid, and sure enough, there was Bit, driving the jeep with one hand, and waving like an idiot with the other.

[If you're not in the zoid, then who is?] Brad asked curiously.

[Uh, hey guys!!] Another voice said over the radio happily and nervously.

[Nikita?!  Is that you?!] Leena screamed in surprise.

[Yeah!  We found it!] He beamed in happiness. [If you guys wouldn't mind putting down your weapons and letting me into the hanger, I'd really appreciate it…]

Both Brad and Leena silently moved their zoids to allow access to the hanger.  After they had all gotten out of their zoids and Nikita had calmed down, Bit had introduced him to every one that didn't already know him.

"So, this is the famous Nikita Armstrong that defeated my daughter in barely twenty seconds?" Doc asked, extending his hand to him. "Name's Steve Toros, but you can just call me Doc."

"It's a pleasure to finally meet the actual owner of a team as famous as the Blitz Team…"

"Well, you might be seeing more of me in the near future…" Doc said cryptically, smiling.

"Can you run that by me again, sir?" Nikita asked in confusion.

"What he means to say, Nikita, is that you're on the team!" Bit said happily.

"WHAATT?!!!!!!!" Nikita shouted in surprise. "REALLY?!  THIS IS SO COOL!" He took in a deep breath, and ran towards the entrance to the base, shouting "'Scuse me, I gotta make a call!" over his shoulder.

"Well, he sure seems excited…" Doc said, smiling. "And he has a right to be…"

"Bit, are you sure this is a good idea?" Brad asked skeptically. "I mean, so he beat Leena in a simulator, so what?  He has absolutely no combat experience…"

"So?  I didn't have any combat experience, but you let me on the team…" Bit said slyly.

"Yeah, that was luck, mostly." Brad said, a smirk growing on his face.

"Hey!  I resent that!" Bit said angrily.

"So, what makes you so sure of his skills, hm?" Brad asked curiously.

"Well, I'm not sure.  There's just this feeling inside me that says 'Bit, if you don't get him on the team, you WILL end up regretting it…' Just trust me, okay?"

"But what about that zoid?" Brad said, jerking his thumb toward the Black Jackal. "I mean, judging by all the moss and vines covering it up, it must be ancient…what makes you think it'll still run well enough for combat?"

After Brad had finished his sentence, Bit could've sworn he heard the zoid make a growl that sounded like it was saying "Stuck-up varmint…" low enough for only Bit to hear.

"I honestly don't know.  Just a hunch."

"Great." Brad muttered sarcastically. "We're going purely on 'a hunch" about a pilot with an unknown amount of skill, with an unknown zoid that may not even work right and looks like something you'd find on an archeological dig…"

"Well, Brad, whaddya say tomorrow we let him fight you and you can be the judge of how advanced his skills are?" Doc cut in, scratching his chin.

"Hm…" Brad closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Fine.  But there better be some kinda prize…" _Like money… He added mentally._

"Okay, how's 500 bucks sound?" Doc asked hopefully.

"Sounds good." Brad confirmed. "Okay, I'll face him tomorrow in a little exhibition match."

"Great!" Doc beamed. All of them saw a very excited Nikita run up to him.

"Bit, can I borrow your truck?  I need to go home and get all my stuff…" _And my zoid parts…_

"Sure, go right ahead!" He said, tossing him the keys to his long forgotten stealth truck.

He tossed a quick "thanks" over his shoulder, and dived into the truck, starting it up, and driving it out of the hanger and into the desert like a madman.

_Two hours later…_

Everyone had gone to sleep except Bit and Doc, who were waiting for Nikita to return.  Finally, they saw a bright pair of headlights, and the truck pulled into the hanger.

"Hi everybody!" He beamed as he jumped out of the truck and slammed the door shut.

"Well, Nikita, I guaranteed your spot on the team, so tomorrow we're going to Romeo City to register you and the Black Jackal.  Also, we're gonna have a little exhibition match between you and Brad to see how advanced your skills are…" Doc explained. "Also, there's a room set up for you already, so you can deposit your luggage there."

"Thanks, Doc." He quietly turned to Bit. "Bit, can you help me unload my luggage and zoid parts?"

"Just leave the zoid parts in the truck.  I'll take care of that myself." Bit said, opening the back of the truck up.

After Bit helped him move his luggage to him new room, he quickly unpacked, changed into his pajamas, and went to sleep.


	7. Nikita in the Big City

YAY! I got more chappy's up!

Chapter 7- Nikita in the Big City…

Nikita awoke early the next morning, still running on the adrenaline that was still pumping through his veins, thanks to the wonderful news that he had received the night before.

He remembered the small silver charm around his neck.  It was a medallion with the imprint of a two-headed dragon on it, attached to a silver chain.  His mother had given it to him the night before and the story behind it as well…

Begin flashback

_"It was your father's…" His mother had said when she had given him the medallion._

_"My father's?!"_

_"Yes.  A couple of months before you were born, your father and I had separated, and he went off to fulfill his dream of becoming a great zoid warrior at the zoid academy.  After that, I neither saw nor heard from him again, or even heard any news of his travels.  Before he had left, he gave me this medallion, which had been sort of a lucky charm all his life, which is mainly why I assume that he didn't become a great zoid warrior like he planned…"_

_"So why do you want me to have it?"_

_"Because, I think that this is your father's wish as well as you own.  I want to support you in any way possible, even though I have to remain at home and take care of your younger brother.  This way, I can be with you in spirit, no matter where you go…"_

_"Mom, thank you.  I promise by the gods of Zi that I will become a great zoid warrior…"_

End flashback

"Don't worry 'bout me, mom, I'll become a great warrior, or die trying…" He muttered under his breath.

He silently walked into the bathroom, and bathed and groomed himself.  After he was finished, he dressed into a pair of arctic camouflage pants and a black T-shirt.  He grabbed his old green fatigue jacket that had the "Kamikaze logo" patch on the left shoulder, and slipped into it.

He calmly walked into the kitchen, where everyone except Bit was sitting at the table.

"Mornin', everybody!"

Everyone mumbled their greetings, some more energetic than others did.

"Well, Nikita, you sure seem chipper this morning." Doc said, smiling.

"Of course! We're goin' to Romeo City today, aren't we?"

"Yeah, that's right. We'll leave as soon as Bit wakes up."

"Hey, dad, can I come with?" Leena asked suddenly.

"Um, sure."

"I'll be going along too, then.  I just remembered I have to meet Naomi there today…" Brad said, sipping some of his coffee.

"Well, since I don't wanna be stuck here alone, I guess I'll come with you…" Jamie said.

Two hours later, Bit finally woke up, and they began their trip to Romeo City.  After a couple more hours, they arrived.  While Nikita took the Black Jackal to be registered and serviced at the ZBC office, the rest of the team went to a local café to eat and wait for him to finish…

"All right Mr. Armstrong, I'll just need your signature here…" The officer said, pointing to a blank line on the warrior registration paper.

Nikita quietly signed it. "So, is that all?"

"Well, now all you have to do is go input your name into the zoid gear that came with your zoid…"

"Thanks." He said, taking the unit, and taking the lift up to the cockpit of the zoid.

Currently, the zoid was being serviced and cleaned (mostly cleaned) for use.  He did as he was told, and inserted the portable unit into the tray that had been opened for that purpose.

"Well, that's it Jackal.  You're officially my zoid now…" He said, patting the cockpit happily.

It gave a loud roar that echoed through the entire hanger, startling all of the mechanics currently cleaning the zoid. "Heh, you're excited too, huh?"

After they were finished cleaning it, Nikita piloted it back to the Hovercargo, and began to wander the city, trying to find exactly which café the Blitz Team had gone to.

He was calmly walking down the street, minding his own business and listening to his CD Walkman, when all of the sudden, he bumped into someone, lost his balance, and fell face-first to the floor.

"Oh my god!  I'm sooooooo sorry!" A voice exclaimed.

A hand grabbed his, and lifted him to his feet.  He was automatically entranced.

The person was a girl, no older than he was, with long black hair and brown eyes.  She was dressed in only a white T-shirt and a jean skirt that went down to her knees.  She was, in Nikita's humble opinion, one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen in his lifetime…

"It's okay…" He said flatly.  He was too entranced to sound any different than a recording.

"No, I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going…sorry…" The girl said dutifully.

"Neither was I…sorry."

"Well… gotta go!  Seeya around!" She said quickly, turning around and running in the opposite direction.

"Wait!" he shouted after her. "Who are you?"

"My name's Kayla!" She said over her shoulder.

And with that, she was out of sight.

Nikita had a sudden urge to chase after her, but he didn't pursue it, and decided to continue his search for the rest of the Blitz Team.

After another ten minutes of searching, he found them in a local café.

"Hey guys!" He called to them through the large crowd.  All of them looked surprised at his arrival.

"Hey, we were wondering when you'd show up…" Bit said, munching on a cheeseburger.

"Yeah, I was beginning to think you were having second thoughts…" Leena said, smiling jokingly.

"Not a chance." He said cockily. "I'm all registered, and so is my zoid!  They even cleaned it up, too!  I'm all set up for that little exhibition match with Brad later…" he looked around, and noticed that the former mercenary was missing. "Lemme guess, he went to find Naomi?"

"Actually, Naomi found us, so Brad went off to hang out with her." Bit said, now finished with his cheeseburger. "Said he'd be back by noon, just in time for the match with you."

"Does he do this often?" Nikita asked curiously.

Everyone nodded.

"Even when he has a little spare time, he spends it all on dates with her!  I wish they'd just get married already!  I mean, he acts like he's married to her anyway…" Leena huffed in exasperation.

"Yeah, but I hope he doesn't get married too soon…" Doc cut in. "He is still a valuable member of this team…"

"So, to celebrate my new spot on the team, whaddya guys say that after the match we all stay up and watch a couple of movies?" Nikita beamed happily.

Everyone smiled at the idea.

"Yeah, sure!  A movie night sounds great!" Jamie said happily. "Just as long as I don't have to cook anything…"

"Don't worry about that!  We'll just order pizza!" He said, after thinking for a moment.

"Yay!  Pizza!" Leena exclaimed happily.

_Elsewhere in Romeo City…_

Kayla walked down the now empty streets of Romeo City, smiling happily to herself.  She had only lived in the city for about two weeks and she ALREADY met someone!

_I wonder who he is?  She thought to herself as she unlocked the door to her apartment._

"Father, I'm home!" He shouted into house.

"Oh, I was beginning to wonder where you were…" Said another figure in the house.

"Why would you worry about me?  I can take care of myself!" She said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Yes, but remember, I still have to find what I'm looking for…" The figure revealed itself from the shadows. "Remember, we're here to find the Blitz Team and execute my revenge, remember?" Dr. Layon asked, narrowing his eyes. "Not only that…but we've got to find-"

"Yeah, I know…" She sighed, cutting him off.

"Speaking of which…I've found that old zoid that you can use…" He said, a happy glint in his eyes.

"Really? She asked, her eyes perking up.

"Yes.  It's in the Whale King at the dock. I'll take you there if you want…"

She nodded quickly, and ran out of the apartment.

After they both proceeded to the dock and opened up the bay of the Whale King, Kayla almost fainted at the sight of the zoid that was before her.

The zoid was white, painted with red trim on the legs, and was shaped oddly, like a cross between the Lightning Seix and the Shadow Fox zoid that had been stolen from Layon a year earlier.  It was armed with the same A-Z 30mm Special Laser Vulcan gun that was used on the Shadow Fox and a pair of blades and even a Strike Laser Claw.

"Wow!" She said, stepping closer to the zoid.

"This, Kayla, is your new zoid…" Layon beamed. "It's got all the original armaments, with a couple of secret surprises as well…"

"What are they?"

"Oh no you don't.  Not until you actually pilot it in combat!" He said, grinning.

"So, when do I attack?" She asked, now getting a murderous twinkle in her eyes.

"Day after tomorrow, at dawn.  I know that Toros will be taking it easy on them, and all of the Blitz Team's pilots are out of practice.  This will be a battle easily won for you and the White Panther…"

"The White Panther…?" She asked, skeptically looking at the zoid.

"Yes, that's its name." He said, looking at the zoid in a prideful sort of way. "All my creative genius and ingenuity in one powerful yet cunning zoid…it's even more powerful than that useless wreck, the Shadow Fox that I valued so dearly until that weasel Toros stole it from me…" He reared back his head, and let out a loud, psychotic laugh. "I WILL GET MY REVENGE TOROS! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Kayla just ignored her father's bout of temporary insanity, and jumped into the cockpit of the zoid, activating the zoid in one fluid motion.

"Okay, Panther…time for a little spin!!" She yelled as the zoid roared to life and sped out of the Whale King.

Whew!  Finally got that one done! Please, R/R! I need reviews!


	8. The Battle of the Jackal and Fox AKA: Br...

Okay, the long awaited dispute, Brad versus Nikita in a death duel (okay, maybe not to the DEATH, but who cares!) Anyway, here we go!

Chapter 8- Battle of the Jackal and Fox (Brad vs. Nikita)

[This is Brad.  Mobilizing Shadow Fox…] Brad said as the Hovercargo opened its door, and launched his zoid out of it.

[This is Nikita] Came Nikita's voice nervously. [I'm all set…]

The Jackal roared at his nervousness as it was launched out of the Hovercargo. Don't worry 'bout nothin' Master…you'll do fine!

"I dunno Jackal…I heard the Shadow Fox can fire at basically any angle…" He said, looking at Brad's zoid, particularly the 30mm A-Z Special Laser Vulcan gun.

I have an idea…do ya have a CD with ya?

"Yeah, I always carry one around, seeing as music helps me calm down…why?"

I was designed with a stereo in my cockpit, so you can play it…

"But why'd they design you like that?"

Beats me. It made something like a shrug.  I think it has somethin' to do with my combat system…just do it, alright?

"Okay, whatever…" He said, putting the CD into the now exposed CD tray in the cockpit.

The Jackal roared in delight. Ah…Black Sabbath…nice choice.

"Thanks.  Alright, lets do it!" He shouted, readying his fingers on the triggers.

Up in the sky, both warriors saw the twinkle of the Judge Capsule, and it slammed into the ground with the force of a megaton bomb, shaking the ground underfoot.

"Battle approved!  Battle approved!  The Shadow Fox versus the Black Jackal.  Exhibition match, battle mode zero one zero two! Both pilots will fight until one is knocked over, NOT a system freeze.  If the battle is not decided within a time limit of 30 minutes, the winner will be decided by point value.  Ready…"

Both pilots readied their weapons. "FIGHT!!"

[Yer goin' down, kid!] Brad shouted as he charged the Jackal head-on.

[Not that easily, Brad!] He shouted as he also charged head-on.

Both zoids roared at the challenge, and the Shadow Fox opened fire, kicking up the dust at the feet of the Jackal.

Nikita zigzagged the Jackal out of the way of the bullets, making sure they didn't catch his feet.  He calmly targeted the Fox in his sights, and opened fire with the rifles above his head.  He caught the Fox five times in the side, but failed to knock it over as he rushed by it.

[Nice try!] Brad shouted as he chased after the Jackal. [But not good enough!] He charged him and rammed his zoid into the back of the fleeing Jackal repeatedly.

[Hey, cut that out!] Nikita shouted at him. He hit another button on his triggers, and smoke blew out behind him, stopping the Shadow Fox in its tracks.

Brad only smirked when the smoke had been discharged. _Well, I'll give the kid SOME credit…_

[Hey, I've got a riddle for ya kid…] He said, turning on the infrared scanners.

[What is it?]

[How long do you think you'll be safe while I'm trapped in this fog?] He asked, searching the area around him for the Jackal.

[Umm….] Nikita remained silent, desperately trying to think of an answer.

He spotted a small heat source to his immediate left. _Gotcha! Brad smirked, and began to move through the smoke towards the heat source._

[Times up, kid!] He whooped in delight as he dived out for the heat source.

Brad's feeling of pride left in an instant and was suddenly replaced by a sour, unsettling feeling in the bottom of his stomach.

Nikita was facing him, and his rifles were aimed right at him.

_He knew all along! He played me for a fool!_

[Wave "Bye bye" to your chances, Brad!] He said as he fired the rifles, catching the Shadow Fox in midair, and hitting it over six times before letting it fall to the ground on its side.

"Battle over!  Battle over!" The Judge said, flailing its arms wildly. "The winner is…the Black Jackal!"

"Alright!!  I did it!" Nikita whooped, opening the cockpit and standing up. "I'm the greatest!" He started doing a very ridiculous dance in his cockpit, causing everyone watching to sigh in exasperation.

His victory dance was interrupted when a random shell hit home right next to his zoid, causing him to close the cockpit, and begin shouting obscenities a mile a minute as he secured himself in the crash belts.

"Brad!  What the hell's your problem?!" He exclaimed, targeting the Shadow Fox in his crosshairs. _Lousy stuck-up sonofa…_

"Kid, that wasn't me…" Brad said calmly, raising the Shadow Fox to its feet.

Another round hit home at the feet of the Black Jackal, causing Nikita to look toward his immediate left.  He only saw a blur of white as something left the battlefield. _What the hell was that? He thought briefly._

"Oh no you don't!  He said, rushing his zoid over to where he thought the blur had been.  When he finally reached it, however, there was nothing there.

[Didja find anything, Nikita?] Doc asked curiously.

[That's a negative.  There's nothing here…now.] He said as he turned the zoid back toward the Hovercargo. [I'm headin' back…]

He silently piloted the Jackal back to the Hovercargo, but still couldn't shake the feeling that something was out there…somewhere…

            *                                                          *                                                          *

Kayla sighed to herself as she piloted the White Panther back to the Whale King in Romeo City. 

_This zoid has incredible speed AND maneuverability!  And the pure power it possesses!  How could my father have not thought of me using this sooner?!_

The Panther let out a soft growl, and Kayla nodded. "Yeah, that's the zoid alright…I think its called the Black Jackal…I wonder who the pilot is?"

It let out a howl. "Yeah, I hope we meet it in combat soon, too…"

_That way I can prove I am the greatest warrior in the world!_

WOW!  MAJOR SUGAR RUSH TODAY!  THREE CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY!! WAHOO!! GO ME!!!!  I'M #1!  I'M #1!


	9. Scary movies and games, oh my!

Uh, hi!  Just to say, the story is not dead!  It just came out of a coma, that's all! OK, I know the title sounds fruity, but I honestly couldn't think of anything else!

Chapter 9-Scary Movies and games, oh my!

"Bit, do you have any idea of what that blur could've been?" Nikita asked as he and Bit walked to his room.

Ever since they had seen that blur over five hours ago, Nikita had kept thinking about it.

Bit shook his head. "No, not really.  I guess it could've been a zoid, but it moved too fast to be any existing model…"

"Well, I guess I'll forget about it…" He sighed, opening the door to his room.

Bit nodded, and said, "That might be the best idea…seeya in two hours for the movie thingy…"

"Wait a second!" Nikita said suddenly. "Um, Bit, could I speak with you for a second?  Privately?"

Bit looked confused, but nodded. "Sure." Both walked into Nikita's room, and shut the door. "Okay, what is it?"

"Well, uh…" Nikita shifted uncomfortably, turning a shade of crimson. "Well, uh, there's this girl I like…"

"Ahh… finally!" Bit sighed in exasperation. Then he began to mimic his mother. "Aww…my little baby's all grown up!" He said in an incredibly high-pitched voice.

"Hey, quit that 'baby' stuff man!" He said. "Anyway…I don't know how to go about…ya know…"

"You want my input huh?" He asked, placing a hand on his hip.  "Okay, who is it?"

"Uh…um, well…" Nikita said, unsure of how to finish his sentence.

"You like Leena don't you?" He asked slyly, raising his eyebrows in a goofy fashion.

"WHAT?!  HOW'D YOU KNOW?!" He exclaimed, grabbing Bit by the collar of his shirt.

"I dunno." Bit shrugged. "I can tell I guess.  I mean, Jamie, Doc, Brad, or even Leena can't tell, but *I* can…"

"Okay, sure, but can ya keep quiet about it?  I don't want everyone to know just yet…" Nikita said, blushing even more than he was before.

"Don't worry about it man, I'll make you two a couple by the end of the week…"

"Huh?"

"Just trust me, okay?"

"Alright…whatever…"

After ten minutes, Bit, Jamie, Leena and Nikita all left in Bit's jeep to Titus City, which was only about forty miles out.  Bit dropped Nikita and Leena off at the pizzeria to get their food, while Bit and Jamie went to pick out the movies.

"Hey, Jamie, can you go to the horror section and get me a copy of 'The Shining?'" Bit asked, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Why do ya want that?" Jamie asked curiously. "I heard it's pretty scary…and God knows we don't want Leena fainting every five seconds…"

"Well…um…I wanna scare the pants of everyone!" Bit stammered, resisting the urge to tell Jamie the _real reason for getting it._

Jamie shrugged, and did as he was told.

Bit meanwhile, went to the game rental section to find something. _Hmm…what would get them together?_

One particular game caught his eye.

"Metal Gear Solid?" He asked himself, picking up the case.  He read over the summary of the game on the back, and smirked evilly. _Hm…this is an infiltration game!  If memory serves, infiltration equals suspense, which equals…!_

"Okay, Metal Gear Solid it is…"

He quickly spotted another gaming gem. _Resident Evil 2!  Perfect!  These two'll do the trick!_

He put both cases in his hands, and went to go find Jamie.

"Hey, Bit, I found a copy of 'The Shining…'" Jamie said, handing him the movie with little enthusiasm.  Then he noticed the game cases in his hands. "Bit, why are there video games in your hands?"

"Uh…well, ya see…"

"I thought you said this was movie night!"

"It is…it's just…" Bit stammered.

_Aww…screw the secret! Jamie's not gonna tell anyone!_

"Well, ya see, I'm tryin' ta get Leena and Nikita together, and these movies and games are a part of my plan.  Just go along with it, okay?"

"Okay…I guess.  But for the record, I'm going to say that this plan is crazy…" Jamie said skeptically.

"Oh, and while we're at it, let's make it seem like this conversation never happened, okay?" Bit asked, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Uh, whatever…"

"Thanks, Jamie.  I knew I could count on you…"

They quickly paid for their rentals and left the rental shop.

Meanwhile, Nikita and Leena were standing in front of the pizzeria, waiting for their order.

"So, why'd you want to become a zoid warrior?" She asked suddenly.

"Wha?  Me?" Nikita asked, pointing at himself.  He thought for a moment. "Well, I was told that my father was a zoid warrior, but he disappeared before I was born, so I never knew him.  Since I couldn't afford to buy my own zoid, I became a scavenger, to try and get as close to the action as possible.  So, I guess this was kinda a lifelong dream of some sort…"

"Wow.  That's really deep." She said in awe.

"Uh…thanks." He said, blushing.

"Leena Toros and Nikita Armstrong, your order is ready!"  Said the cashier loudly.

Leena walked over, and picked up the four boxes of pizza, and set them down in the back seat of the jeep. "Okay, this should be enough…" She said, digging in her purse for money.

"I got this one." He said, slapping a twenty on the table.

"Uh…thanks." She said, walking to the jeep, and leaning against the door.

An awkward silence filled the air.

"So, um, do you know what Bit's getting?" She asked curiously.

Nikita shrugged. "Not a clue. He just said it'd be a really good movie or two…"

"Oh, okay."

Five minutes later, Bit and Jamie showed up.

"Hey guys!  Didja wait long?" Bit asked, raising and eyebrow.

"Not really.  But the pizza's gonna be an ice block by the time we make it back to the base…" Leena said dutifully.

"Leena…always the pessimist, aren't you?" Bit asked slyly, chuckling. "The way *I* drive, we'll be there in ten or twenty minutes TOPS…"

Everyone sighed in exasperation, and climbed into the jeep, making extra sure to buckle himself or herself in.

Bit gave a loud howl, and sped off into the night.

After ten minutes, Bit turned on the radio and announced that they were halfway there.

"Brr…" Leena shivered.  "It's gettin' chilly…"

"Here." Nikita said suddenly.  He had taken off his green jacket, and crumpled it up into a ball. "Take it."

"But…won't you be cold?"  She asked, looking at the jacket, and then back at him.

He shook his head. "Naw, I'll be okay.  Besides, I think Bit's takin' the shortcut, so it won't be much longer anyway…" _I HOPE he's takin' the shortcut… He added mentally._

"Um…thanks a lot, Nikita." She said, slipping on the jacket.  It was at least a couple sizes too big for her, because the sleeves drooped down past her hands by a few inches, and the back was like a skirt on her.  She looked back at Nikita, then at the jacket again. "Jesus Christ, step on it Bit!  We're all gonna catch cold's if you don't hurry!"

Bit was too busy bopping his head to the guitar riff of Nirvana's "Nevermind" to respond, but acknowledged that he had heard her by flooring the gas and speeding toward the Toros Base.

Five minutes later, they quietly shuffled out of the hanger, making sure not to wake Doc (Who had gone to sleep early for some reason), or knock anything over.

"Okay, Nikita, put this in the PSOne…" Bit said, handing him the copy of "Metal Gear Solid."

"Bit, I thought this was-" Nikita never finished his sentence due to the look in Bit's eyes.  They showed confidence, and seriousness to his actions.  He took the case in his hands, weighed it as if it weighed over a ton. "Okay, whatever."

He popped in the game, and instantly was possessed.

As he played, the story of the characters gradually unfolded, and he eventually got totally into it (he even mimicked smoking cigarettes, like the main character Solid Snake…)

The room was completely dark, and the only light was the glow of the television itself (Bit had turned off the lights for mood).

Leena, on the other hand, was huddled pretty close to him, leaning on his shoulder, and made very sudden moves whenever Nikita was spotted or killed (in the game).

Finally, Nikita beat the game on Easy difficulty some three hours later.

"Okay, try this one, hotshot…" Bit said, handing him the case for "Resident Evil 2."

Nikita gulped down two slices of pizza, and popped it in the PSOne.

If Nikita thought Metal Gear Solid had a dark plot to it, then Resident Evil was just downright gruesome.

Leena was totally petrified with fear.  The total atmosphere of the game scared the living daylights out of her.  The subtle changes in music even increased her fears, because that generally meant that more zombies would burst into the room.  Every time that happened, she almost literally jumped into his lap, and was hugging his shoulders for dear life, which sometimes cut off his circulation, causing him to tap her on the shoulder to get her to stop.

Finally, much to Leena's relief, he beat that game two hours later.

"Okay, now for the coupe de grace…" Bit said, popping "The Shining" into the VCR.

"Dude, can't we take a pizza break?" Nikita asked, rubbing his stomach.  It let out a loud grumble that everyone at least three towns away heard. He chuckled sheepishly, blushing redder than the red sun on his Kamikaze patch on his jacket (which Leena was still wearing). "Heh, heh, sorry…"

"Okay, okay, we'll all take a half an hour break for the rest of the pizza, then watch 'The Shining'…" Bit said, stifling a laugh.

They popped the rest of the pizza into the oven, causing Nikita to moan in hunger, and stand in front of the oven with a blank stare on his face, making only moans and groans occasionally.

Finally, they all finished their pizza at 2:30 in the morning, and were setting themselves up to watch the movie, when they heard two people entering the base from the hanger entrance.

"…Do ya think they're all asleep?" Asked one of the people to the other.  The voice didn't sound like a man's, more like a woman's voice.

"Yeah, they're all sound asleep…" Said a man's voice softly. "That gives us some time alone…" The voice added slyly.

One thought crossed all of their minds at the same time…

_Brad and Naomi… They all thought in unknown unison._

"Brad, are you sure about this?" Naomi whispered back, a still a little unsure.

"Yeah, positive." He brushed her off.

"Are you SURE?" She said, stressing her point.

Brad said nothing, but finished her sentence with a kiss, and a very passionate-sounding one at that.

"So, are you convinced now?" Brad whispered slyly.

She giggled. "Sure."

They heard their footsteps approach the living room now, and the rest of the teenagers froze, waiting for Brad and Naomi in the darkness.

Finally, they walked into the room, and jumped up in surprise when they saw that Bit, Jamie, Nikita and Leena were not only wide awake, but were grinning with smiles as wide as big screen TV's on their faces.

"Why hello, Brad…how decent of you to 'pop in'…" Bit said sarcastically, his grin growing even larger.

"Brad…why aren't they asleep?" Naomi fumed, glaring at her boyfriend angrily, but trying desperately to restrain herself from killing him.

"I dunno…" Brad said, genuinely confused. "Isn't past your bedtime, kiddies?"

"Hey, shaddup!" Nikita said defensively. "We still have to watch 'The Shining'!" He added as if it was completely normal.

At this, Naomi's mood changed from that of anger to that of curiosity and happiness. "Oh, can I watch?" She asked, smiling. "Please?  Pretty please?" She begged, clasping her hands.

"Sure ya can!" Jamie said happily.

Now it was Brad's turn to be upset. "Oh, alright, fine!" He grunted angrily as he plopped down on the couch while crossing his arms in stewing fury.

Naomi smiled happily, and sat down next to him.  She whispered something in his ear, and he suddenly started turning red, until his complexion matched the color of his girlfriend's Gun Sniper.

"Heh, heh…alright, if ya want…" He said mischievously as the movie started.

Everyone sat down around the now snuggling couple.  Bit sat on the other side of Brad, and Jamie sat next to Bit.  Nikita sat next to Naomi and Leena sat next to him, seeing as it was the only other available spot.

For some reason, it started with one of those old, movie countdowns.

Movie: 5…4…3…

"Here comes 2!" Nikita said, causing everyone around him to sweat drop at his goofiness.

The movie started.

*                                                        *                                               *

Kayla calmly sat on the roof on the apartment building she lived in, staring up into the stars, lost in thought.

_Who was he? She wondered to herself. __And why does father insist finding him so badly? Why is he so important to find, and why was he so hard to track down?_

She remembered what her father had told her, her "mission" once he was found.

Begin flashback

_"Kayla, listen, and listen carefully.  Once 'he' is found, all of us can be the family that we so truly are…"_

_"But, why do we need HIM?  I'm just as skilled as you say he is…"_

_"No, I'm afraid that's not enough, Kayla…I know that you are skilled…VERY skilled, but he may be even more skilled than the warriors Van Flyhiet and Bit Cloud molded together into one person…"_

_"No way!  That's impossible!"_

_He shook his head. "No, I'm afraid it isn't…he could be more powerful than a Death Saurer in ANY zoid…that's why I need you to find him…so we can execute our revenge on that wife-stealing bastard Toros…"_

End flashback

She shook her head in disbelief.  She never believed that "he" was as strong as her father had said. _I'll believe it when I see it…_

*                                                        *                                               *

Bit was very happy with his successful results of the movie.

For starters, he couldn't get enough of Jamie's reactions to the movie.  At the scariest moments (and even some not scary moments) Jamie would bury his face in his hands, and whimper like a puppy dog.

Secondly, Naomi and Brad were snuggling throughout the entire movie, whispering into each other's ears and kissing each other a few times.

Nikita and Leena, on the other hand, were a completely different story.  Both of them were just sitting there, and watching the movie.  However, both were unknowingly shifting closer to each other, and Leena even put her head on his shoulder, and it took him half and hour to notice, and tap her shoulder to get her off, causing her to blush to the color of her hair and mumble an apology.

After the movie ended, everyone went to his or her respective rooms (except for Naomi, who went with Brad to his room, that sly fox!), and got ready to go to sleep.

Nikita silently walked up the door for Bit's room, and knocked sharply.

"Hey, Bit, can I speak to you for a moment?" Nikita said.

"Sure, c'mon in." He said through the door.

Nikita walked in as soon as Bit opened the door.

"Bit, one word: Genius!  Bit Cloud, you are a genius!"

"Damn straight!" Bit said, smirking.

Both of them slapped five.

"I really liked the games, man!  Those things kicked ass!" Nikita said happily.

"Yeah, they were all part of my plan…"

"Plan?  What're ya talkin' about, Bit?" He asked in confusion. (A/N: Man, me and Nikita are so alike…we're both morons when it comes to women…)

Bit slapped himself in the forehead in exasperation. _I should've known better…_

"Nikita!  My plan!  You and Leena!" Bit said loudly.

Nikita quickly shushed him, and Bit remembered to keep quiet about it.

"Sorry…" He growled. "But during the whole time you were playing she was clinging to you like grass on a lawn!  (A/N: Ha!  I coined a phrase! ^_^) It was amazing!"

"What?  Really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Man, how can you be so dense?" Bit asked him jokingly. "She likes you, and you don't even know it…you sad, sad man…"

"You really think so?" He asked. "I mean, so she was sitting next to me, big deal.  She probably likes someone else…" He said glumly.

"No, you just wait…" Bit said slyly.

"Okay…whatever." He said, walking out of Bit's bedroom, and to his own.

He silently undressed and got into his bedclothes, thinking about what Bit said…

_No way she likes me…is there?  Nah, I don't think so…but she was kinda using me like a teddy bear all night…_

He smiled at that thought, and went to sleep.

In another room in the base, Leena Toros sat near her table, brushing her hair and putting it into a ponytail to keep it together.

She thought about all that had happened tonight.

_Hmm…those were some good games tonight…I wonder why Bit picked those?  She thought curiously. __I kinda used Nikita as a cushion tonight…I should apologize…_

Then another thought dawned on her. _Hey, wait a second!  I didn't give Nikita his jacket back!_

She quickly took it off, and smelled it.  It carried the faint aroma of sweat, laundry freshener, oil, peach scented shampoo, and cologne.  _It smells like him…_

She smiled warmly at the thought. _Well, I'll give it back to him tomorrow…_

She unconsciously put the jacket back on, and fell asleep.

HAHA! I finished!  Now listen, anyone who reads and DOESN'T review this story, I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN! I MEAN IT!

Naomi: ::grabbing the shotgun before he can:: You'll have to excuse him…he's a bit on edge right now…

AND I DAMN WELL SHOULD BE! I WATCHED FAHRENHEIT 451 IN ENGLISH AND IT SUCKED!! :: starts spazing out:: MUST…KILL…IDIOT…CHARACTERS!  MUST…DESTROY…MUST…BEAT UP THE PURPLE MONKEYS!!!

Naomi: As you can see, he's totally snapped.

Oh, and before I go, sorry to Red Phoenix, I responded to your question in the reviews section!  But, uh, anyway…go away!  READ AND REVIEW!! NOW!! ::cocks shotgun that materialized from nowhere threateningly:: 'CAUSE IF YOU DON'T…!!!


	10. Modification Complications

HA! I got it up! FINALLY! DAMN SCHOOL!! Ah, whatever…  It's unfortunate, but this chapter is going to be extremely sappy, so don't kill me please!

Chapter 10- Modification Complications

That morning, everyone awoke refreshed and rested, despite the fact they didn't get much sleep.  The only exceptions to these two rules were Brad and Naomi, who both came into the room looking like zombies.

Naomi came into the room with a drowsy, but nonetheless happy look on her face.  She looked over at her boyfriend, Brad, and kissed him softly on the lips.

Brad looked surprised, but gave her a sly grin while she mouthed a silent "thank you."

After the normal morning shenanigans (I.e.: Brad and Naomi kissing ((again)), Bit stealing Leena's food ((*sigh* again)), and Nikita shouting obscenities in four languages ((English, Italian, Japanese, and Chinese…wow, he's cultured 0_0;;)) while waiting for his food), they finally ate breakfast, made by master gourmet Jamie.

"Wow, this French Toast is great!  Your best batch ever!"  Leena said, stuffing her face with another one.

"Yeah, my compliments to the chef!" Nikita said, pouring more syrup on his batch.

Finally, all of their bellies were filled, and they all sighed in contentment.

"Oh, man!  That was great!" Bit sighed.

"Hey, Doc.  Do we have a battle scheduled soon?" Nikita asked, rubbing his belly with a wide grin.

Doc shook his head. "No, still nothing." He sighed. "Somebody's gotta challenge us soon!  I wanna buy some new models…"

Everyone sweat dropped and sighed in exasperation at that comment.

"Well, I think it's good there are no battles today." Nikita said, getting up. "I need some time to modify the Jackal anyway…"

"Hey, let me help you out!" Leena said suddenly, standing up.

"H-huh?" he stuttered suddenly. After all, help from the most unexpected source was very surprising…

"Yeah.  I've modified my Gun Sniper lots of times, so I can give you some advice." She said, her violet eyes twinkling happily.

_Oh man, oh man, oh man…THIS KICKS ASS!!!!!!!_

Nikita had to use all of his energy to keep himself contained at the happiness that was bubbling inside of him. "O-okay, sure!  Thanks!"

"No problem!" She said, smiling.

"Meet me in the hanger in ten minutes, okay?  And wear somethin' ya don't mind getting dirty…" He said, walking off toward the hanger to get the parts ready.

Leena went back to her room and changed into a pair of slightly ripped and faded jeans, and a black tank-top shirt.  She tied an old red bandanna around her hair to keep it clean, and grabbed a pair of working gloves from her drawer.

She was just about to walk out, when she noticed Nikita's army jacket lying over the back of her chair.  She picked it up, and wrapped it around her waist.

Meanwhile, in the hanger, Nikita quietly slipped into his old, gray working jumpsuit, and zipped it up.  He fetched all the remaining parts, and laid them out neatly.

[Yawn.]  Hey, master, you gonna modify me today or somethin'? The Jackal asked sleepily.

"Yeah, I figured you wanted some more weaponry than those 50mm's or the blades or the 'Chaff Dischargers', so I'm gonna put some more on ya.  I even got Leena to help me out!"

Oh…so, you gonna make yer move? It asked slyly.

"Oh, yeah…WAIT A SECOND!! HOW THE HELL'D YOU FIND OUT?!!!!!!" He bellowed, jumping up and dropping the extra stabilizer he was carrying on his foot. "OWWW!!"

If yer done droppin' things on yer foot now, it doesn't exactly take a genius to figure that out.  I mean, when you were pilotin' me two days ago after ya found me, I felt the energy that was bubblin' inside ya when she realized it was you…

"Whoa, that disturbs me…" He said in a dumbfounded tone.

The Jackal made a shrugging noise. Well, I suppose I should wish ya luck…I think she's in the hanger…

"WHAT?!"

"Nikita, who are you talking to?" Leena's voice asked suddenly.

He turned around, and saw the beautiful, red-haired bombshell looking at him with a very strange expression in her eyes.

She was dressed in a pair of old, faded and torn jeans and a black tank-top shirt that showed just a tiny bit of cleavage (which caused him to blush the color of her hair).  The old red bandanna wrapped around her hair made her look completely different, and some of her hair went down over one eye. He also noticed his green jacket wrapped around her waist.

"Uh…no one..." He said, losing himself in her eyes.

She just stared back at him with that same strange expression in her violet orbs.

"Well, um, maybe we should get to modifying the Jackal…" She said, breaking the silence that filled the air.

"Yeah, he's probably gettin' antsy over there…" He said, looking at his zoid with a humored expression on his face.

At this, she looked even more confused than before.

"Never mind." She said, holding a hand up. She walked over to the organized pile of parts on the floor. "Jeez!  I've never seen a more organized scrap pile in my life!" She marveled loudly.

"Well, it took me two years to find all those parts, so you could say I'm fairly dedicated…" He said, blushing, but also letting his eyes show that he didn't like the "scrap pile" comment too much.

"Well, I didn't mean it in a bad way…" She said, seeing the look on his face and in his eyes. "What I _meant to say was that even Bit never organizes his scavenger finds this well!  I've never seen someone so dedicated to it…"_

"It takes skill…" He said unenthusiastically, shrugging his shoulders.

"Alright, genius, what are ya gonna use on your zoid?" She asked sarcastically.

"Well…" He walked over to a pile set up on a small brown tarp on the floor near the feet of the Black Jackal. "I checked over the zoid yesterday, and I discovered about six plates of armor that can come off to house hidden armaments.  So, I picked out…"

He pointed to a pair of Weasel unit missile pods. "Arming these as my secondary hidden weapons…"

"Why secondary?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at his choice.

"Well, I was going to put as the primaries originally, but then I decided to put on THESE babies…" He pointed toward a pair of 70mm long-range sniper rifles. "If I can rig up a pair of scopes in the cockpit, I can use the Jackal as a sniper zoid, too."

"Wow!"

"…And then I decided to put my blades in the last hidden spot for melee purposes, and mount a pair of ion boosters on the back." He said, pointing to each piece of equipment with a smug look on his face.

"Why the boosters?" She asked in confusion. "The way you're arming it, it'll be so weighted down, you'll barely move faster than a Dark Horn!"

At this question, his smile grew. "One thing you don't understand. All of these armaments I'm addin' are all LIGHT WEIGHT arsenals…"

"Jeez! Where'd you find all this stuff?!" She exclaimed in surprised.

He chuckled softly, and winked. "Uh-uh.  Not telling. That's my secret…"

She managed a smile. "Alright genius, lets get started…"

And so, they both set to work installing the 70mm sniper rifles in the plates after removing the blades and installing the scopes so they were out of the way of his eyesight, and could pop up at any time he wanted them to.  An hour later, they were finished, and took out the missile pods.

"Hey, Leena!" Nikita started, but cut himself off.

"Huh? What is it?" She asked, whipping her brow of the sweat that had gathered there.

"Uh…nothing. Nothing at all…" he said sadly, picking up a wrench, and starting the work on the missile pods.

"Okay…whatever…" She said, taking a seat next to him, and helping him with the plate.

After another hour and a half, they finished installing the missiles and re-installing the blades, and reworking all the wiring that goes into fixing it.

"Whew, I'm beat." Nikita said, plopping down on a supply crate.

"Yeah, me too." Leena said, taking a seat on a crate next to him.

Both remained in silence, catching their breath from their hard labors.

"…So, uh, did you enjoy the movie last night?" Leena asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I've loved The Shining since I was six!" He said happily.

"Yeah, I thought it was okay-wait a second!  Did you say six?!"

"Yeah, everyone I knew at the time was scared of it, and I was curious, so I rented it and watched it with my mom!"

"Jesus…and to think I was scared out of my wits…" She giggled. "…Hey, sorry about usin' you like a teddy bear last night…"

"Eh, no problem!" He shrugged. "Next time you need a cushion, I'm your man!"  He said, jerking his thumb at his chest.

"…Okay, thanks." She chuckled sarcastically.

Both started laughing at their own jokes.

_Dammit!  This jus isn't working! Both thought in unknown unison._

_I need to get this out in the open… Nikita thought grimly._

_Okay, here goes… Leena thought nervously._

"Leena, I-"

"Nikita, I've-"

Both cut themselves off, half-expecting the other to finish, the other half restraining their vocal cords.  Both of them quickly thought of just leaving it here, and getting up and walking out of the hanger, but they both held their positions, and looked at each other quizzically.

"I'm sorry…were you going to say something?" He said, blushing in embarrassment.

"No…not really…" She said, fascinating her gaze on a spot on the floor.

"No, go right ahead…" He said.

"Well…uh…ya see…the thing is….um…" She fished around for the words, but nothing came, so she shouted it. "NikitaI'minlovewithyouandIwantyoutosayyoulovemeback!" She exclaimed, running the words together.

"Huh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion. "Can you please repeat that?"

"Okay, um, Nikita, I'm in love with you and I want you to say you love me back!" She shouted, even louder than the last time, but this time her words were clearer.

_HUH?! She does?! Well, then I guess this makes MY job much, much easier…_

"Leena?" He said softly, making sure not to give her the wrong idea.

"Yes?" She stammered worriedly.

He silently clasped her hand, gave it a soft squeeze, and smiled happily. "I too have a confession to make…I'm in love with you as well."

Both sat there in awkward silence, staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity.

They both silently moved their heads closer to each other, and soon found themselves kissing the other on the lips.

Yeah!  Go Master! The Jackal whooped rather loudly, even for Nikita's tastes.

They parted from each other slowly, and both gave the Jackal a deathglare.

"Shut up!!" They both shouted in unison.

The Jackal let out a small "eep!" and shut up.

Nikita, now running on the pure adrenaline running through his veins, scooped Leena up in his arms by her waist, and jumped up the Jackal's legs into the cockpit.

"Nikita!  What the hell are you doing?!" She screeched as he set her down in the front seat, and jumped into the back seat.

"We're gonna make sure that the Jackal recognizes the hardware!" He said loudly. "What'd ya think we were gonna do?"

"Uh…" She blushed. "Never mind."

"Uh…" He made a dumbfounded sound, and clicked up the Jackal's computer systems. "Okay, lets get to work on the combat system, 'kay?"

"Yeah, sure!  Why not?" She said, looking behind her, and winking.

They spent another half an hour making sure the Jackal knew about the new weaponry.

After they both finished, the Jackal's computer beeped.

"Whoa!  What the hell?!" Leena exclaimed suddenly.

"What's wrong?" He said, looking around her seat so he could see the computer. "What's it doin'?"

"The computer says that the Jackal's combat system is makin' up some combination attacks for your weapons!"

"Really?!" He patted the control panel lovingly. "You really doin' all that, buddy?"

Of course I am, ya dumbass! The Jackal roared loudly in exasperation. What'd yer girlfriend just say?!

"That is a very immature attitude, young man!" Nikita scolded, pretending the Jackal was a little kid.

It gave what sounded like a tired, exasperated sigh. How in the crimson hells did I get stuck with such a dimwit for a pilot?

"I'm not that stupid!" He retorted angrily.

"Yes you are." Leena said simply.

"Oh! Not you too!" He grumbled sadly.

Both of them chuckled at the other's goofiness.

"We're such goofballs…" Leena muttered as she jumped out of the front seat of the Jackal.

"Yes, we are…" He agreed, following her down to the floor.

They both held each other's hands, and started walking back into the base.

"So, do ya think we should tell the rest of the team?" She asked seriously, looking to him for an answer.

He shrugged. "I dunno, it's your decision, Leena…"

"Okay, I guess we'd better get to it, then…"

Both of them looked into the other one's eyes, and smiled.

"…I think it's a good plan…I mean, they'd find out anyway…" Nikita agreed lazily as they exited the hanger.

…AND…DONE!!! FINALLY! JUST TO SAY, I'M NOOOOOOT A ROMANTIC IDIOT!  THIS IS NOT MY FORTE!!

Naomi: ::grabbing the shotgun in advance:: Oh, shut up!

Hey, why'd you grab my shotgun?

Naomi: I thought you were going on a rant again…

But that's not _all_ my weapons…I mean, there's my Katana, my Desert Eagle, my Stinger Missile Launcher, my P-90 Assault rifle, and my-

Naomi: Jesus! Where the hell do you keep all that crap?!

Uh…::thinks for a minute:: my room…


	11. Confessions and poker games

Sorry that this took so long to get posted, but I was busy…and my computer kinda deleted the chapter…*kicks computer out of the window* BASTARD!!!  Uh, anyway, sorry its so short in advance!

Chapter 11-Confessions and Poker Games…

(A/N: I made duces and aces wild during this poker game, okay?)

Both of them silently approached the rest of the Blitz Team, who were all huddled around the table in the living room, playing poker.  It seemed like both Doc and Jamie weren't doing too badly, but Bit was WAY behind in terms of cash, and true to fashion, Brad had the most chips gathered in front of him.

"Bit, hurry up, make your move…" The mercenary said impatiently.

"Uh…" Bit looked at his hand nervously. "I'll put down four, and show you my ace."

"I'll put down three…" Jamie said nervously as he took the cards off the top of the deck.

"I'll take two, thank you…" Doc said with a very non-chalant attitude.

"I guess I'll stick with what I've got." Brad said happily.

"Okay, I put in 500." Bit said after taking his cards. He pushed forward his meager stash of chips.

"Okay, I'll take your 500, and raise ya…" Brad pushed forward all his chips. "THIS."

"Fold." Doc and Jamie said, tossing down their cards.

"Okay, take this sucker…" Brad smirked. He laid down his hand, two kings, one two, and an ace. "Four kings."

Bit looked shocked and heartbroken, and no words left his mouth.

"Well, I'll just be takin' this…" The mercenary said as he started to take Bit's chips.

"Not so fast, moneybags." The blonde-haired warrior said cockily. Brad stopped cold, now with a more worried look on his face.

Bit slapped his hand on the table, and spread out the cards evenly so everyone could see them. "Royal Flush." He said, making sure to spread out the pronunciation of the words.

Brad looked horrified and heartbroken, and could only mumble as Bit pulled all of his chips into his possession.

"Thanks a lot, Brad.  This should help me pay off Doc for the Liger's modification parts…"

"That was…h-half my paycheck…" He gasped, rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't imagining it.

"Yeah, thanks by the way…" Bit chuckled as he got up and pocketed the money on the table.  He started to walk away, humming a tune under his breath, but stopped when he saw Nikita and Leena standing near the door, with very nervous looks on their faces.  "Oh, hey guys…all finished already?"

"Uh, yeah…all finished…" Nikita said nervously.

"What's goin' on?" Jamie asked, looking at them curiously. "You two look nervous…something wrong?"

"Nothing!" Leena answered quickly. Nikita elbowed her in the stomach. "Uh, I mean, um…"

"Fine, I'll say it." Bit said, cutting her off. "Doc, Nikita will be takin' your daughter out for dinner and a movie tonight. Is that a problem?"

"Bit, what the hell-" He was cut off when Bit quickly stepped on his toe sharply. "OW!!"

Doc looked at Bit with a quizzical expression on his face. "No, I don't see why not…"

"Good!" He said happily. "I guess you guys should leave later then…"

"Yeah, sure.  I guess…" Leena said in a very surprised tone.

Both of them started to walk away. "So, uh, what movie do ya wanna see?" _Please say Eight Crazy Nights… Please say Eight Crazy Nights… Please say Eight Crazy Nights… Please say Eight Crazy Nights…_

"How 'bout Eight Crazy Nights?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

_YES!!! "Okay, sure.  Whatever." _

Okay, again, sorry this took so long…

Naomi: Yeah, he just turned stupid again…

Shaddup!!

Nikita: *dancing around with a big smile and singing* I get to go on a date, I get to go on a date, I get to go on a date…

SHUT UP!!!! SING ABOUT SOMETHING ELSE YOU ASS!!!

Nikita: *keeps dancing, but singing different song* I get to see Eight Crazy Nights, I get to see Eight Crazy Nights, I get to see Eight Crazy Nights…

SHUT UP YOU FUCKING IDIOT!!!! Uh, anyway, I'm done ranting.  Go away! And don't forget to read and review!!


	12. The Date and Midnight Conversations

Finally, chapter 12 is up! Last bit of humor before I get to the seriousness! YAY! ^.^ Also, in response to the interviewer known as "Robert Wilkie", I have this to say: NEVER REVIEW MY FICS AGAIN YOU ASSHOLE!! IF I CATCH YOU, I CAN'T BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT I DO! OKAY?!! OKAY!!

Now that that's outta the way, its time for the fic! ROLL FIC PEOPLE!

Nikita: ::running on a treadmill to power the computer:: You can't do this to me! I'm the star!

Black: No, you're just my OC.

Naomi: ::typing on keyboard with a sleep deprive look in eyes:: Okay, I've finished the disclaimer! The Black Blade Liger X don't own jack, so no suing!

Black: ::Shouting to crew:: ROLL FIC!!

Computer Crew: FIC ROLLING!!

3…2…1…BEEP!

**BOOOM!!**

Chapter 12-The Date and Midnight Conversations…

"Excuse me, but do you happen to have any rock salt or something you can use to help me get my car to move?"

"'Excuse me, but do you happen to have any rock salt or' OH SHADDUP!!!!"

And the door slammed shut, making Nikita start cracking up at the sight.

"Good freakin' lord, Dave needs to take that stick outta his ass…" He muttered, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Yeah, what a jackass…" Leena chuckled in agreement as they both continued to watch the movie.

_An hour later…_

After the movie, both decided to go to a nearby café, the very same café that the team had gone to the day before.

"Okay, I've gotta question for you: I went to see that movie with you **why**?" Leena asked, pointing at him with her fork.

Nikita chuckled, and took a sip of his soda. "Easy." He started, imitating a snobby rich person, holding his pinkie up to his mouth like Dr. Evil. "You couldn't resist my charm and handsome looks, and you wanted to see it because you have some sick and demented fascination with Adam Sandler, hmm, yes, yes…"

She started cracking up again. "You sound like Harry Champ…"

That made him turn a shade pale. "Never…say…that…AGAIN!" he exclaimed, enunciating each word with total seriousness.

Then, he snapped his fingers in inspiration. "I know what this date needs! A song!"

He started playing an air guitar, singing the lyrics to "Papercut" really badly.

She covered her ears with a painful grimace, and he finally stopped, chuckling sheepishly.

"Bad idea, huh?"

She nodded quickly, taking a bite of her salad with a smile.

He shrugged, and started to eat his cheeseburger, only to spit some of it out as a reflex once he heard:

"LEENA!!"

_That voice…_ he thought grimly.

"Harry…" They both muttered, each of them turning ghostly white.

Nikita smacked his forehead in exasperation. "Oi vey…"

"I didn't know you were Jewish…" She said in surprise.

"I'm not." He said seriously. "I just thought that the quote fitted the situation…"

"Can't argue with that logic…" She agreed, sighing.

The blonde-haired member of the Champ team appeared seemingly from nowhere, a huge smile on his face.

"My dear! Fancy running into you here!" Harry beamed as he stared at Leena happily.

"Go away, Harry. I'm not in the mood to dear with you right now…" She growled angrily.

Harry looked at Nikita, a surprised look in his eyes, and then back at Leena, and then back at him again.

"What are you doing sitting with **my Leena, trash collector?"**

Nikita gave him an angry look. "_Your Leena, huh?" He snarled. "I don't see your name anywhere on her, punk…"_

"Yeah, piss off Harry!" She grunted, taking another bite of her salad.

Harry gave her a semi-heartbroken look, but then looked at Nikita, his expression rigid with anger.

"It just so happens that we're in love, trash collector, so why don't you just waltz on outta here, and leave me and my Leena alone, huh?!" He shouted, slamming his fist on the table.

Nikita's eyes flashed red with fire and fury, and he slowly stood up, reaching a few inches higher than Harry did.  He snarled at him angrily, and grabbed him by the collar, throwing the Champ Team leader against a nearby wall, pinning him against it with relative ease.

"I've got an idea for ya, you spoiled brat!" he growled in fury, hoisting Harry up so he was a good five or six inches off the ground. "Why don't you, just mosey on outta here, and leave me and my _date alone so we can have a nice evening!"_

Harry gave out a small "eep", but didn't say another word.

"And while your at it, make sure I don't see you anywhere near the Toros Base, or my girlfriend, or I swear to God I'll friggin' hit you so hard, your dog'll be retarded!"

Harry nodded in fright, and Nikita smirked, dropping him against the wall. "Great. I'm glad we could have this little talk…"

Harry nodded again in fear.

"Now, get outta my sight!" He growled again.

Harry ran out of the café as fast as he could.

Nikita sighed, calmly sat back down, and started eating his cheeseburger again as if nothing had happened.

Leena, on the other hand, was so stunned that she had dropped her fork, leaving her mouth wide open in surprise.

"Sorry, I lost my temper back there…" He said dutifully, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"No kidding!" She exclaimed as her voice found its way back into her throat.

Both silently finished their meals, and paid for them. After walking back to Nikita's jeep, and driving back to the Toros Base, they stayed up for a few more hours talking, and then both went to their own rooms respectively, and fell asleep.

_Late that evening…_

_Leena…_ A soft voice called to the girl as she floated in the middle of a dark void.

"Who is that?" She groaned, looking around for whoever had been talking to her.

A red organoid suddenly flashed before her vision, until it stood right in front of her, its eyes glowing eerily green in the darkness. (A/N: Okay, if you don't know whose organoid this is, I'm gonna have to slap you silly! Just kidding! ^.^)

"An organoid?" Leena wondered aloud.

The organoid growled, and a voice said something softly in her ears, causing the organoid to stiffen on its hind legs and listen.

_In time, she is not ready…_

"Ready for what?!" She bellowed into the darkness.

The organoid growled again, and moved its tail, until it sprang on her quickly, knocking her to the ground.

She screamed, but now one heard her, and the organoid held its spiked tail right above her face, and then started it on its bloody descent.

Leena screamed again in terror, and suddenly snapped awake, panting and drenched in a cold sweat.

She finally calmed herself down, after making sure there really was no red organoid in the room.

She checked the clock, slowly rising to her feet. _Five o'clock in the morning? Dammit… She thought, wrapping herself up in the covers. She sighed, and silently trekked towards Nikita's room._

She timidly knocked on the door, expecting him to be asleep, and even a little angry with her.

"Come in." His voice said clearly from the other end.

She blinked in confusion, and quietly opened the door, and walked in.

Nikita was wide awake, with not even a hint of sleep deprivation in his brown eyes, and his arms folded behind his head, with a pair of headphones on his head, blaring some band that he liked loudly.

"You're still awake?" She asked in a somewhat surprised tone.

He nodded. She was even more surprised at the fact that he had even heard her…

"Couldn't sleep…what about you?" he asked, removing the headphones from his head, and hitting the "Stop" button on his CD Walkman.

"Nightmare…" She said, shivering. "Can I stay with you?"

He nodded. "Sure."

"Thanks."

"Was it a black and red organoid?" he asked knowingly, closing his eyes in thought as she lay down next to him.

Leena's eyes perked up in surprise. "How did you know about an organoid?" She asked in surprise.

"Same dream." He said flatly.

"Yeah, except for the fact that the organoid in _my dream was pure red, not black and red…"_

"Right, sure…" He sighed sarcastically. 

"No, I'm being totally serious…" She huffed, turning away from him.

He rolled his eyes, sighed in exasperation, and put his headphones back on his ears, pressing the "Play" button.

"What are you listening to, exactly?" Leena asked curiously, looking at his CD Walkman.

"'Human Clay', by Creed." He said plainly.

"Oh, I love that band!" Leena said, grinning at the fact that both of them like the same bands.

He chuckled, and started listening to "Say I," one of his personal favorites.

Leena looked over at him, and noticed something on his shoulder. It was a tattoo of an orange and yellow star, with some Chinese written underneath it. "Nikita, what's this tattoo on your shoulder about anyway? I don't think I've ever seen it before now…"

He looked at it with slight interest. "This old thing?" He sighed. "I got this thing plastered on me when I was a kid. I knew a couple of drifters awhile back, and they all got tattoos to remember each other by, and I just decided to get one…"

"What's it say underneath the star?" She asked.

"I think it says 'Black Death' or something like that…" He said after thinking about it for a second.

"So, you were how old when this happened?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I dunno…" He thought for a moment. "I'd say about eleven…"

"Holy crap!" She said in surprise. "That's young!"

"No, really?" He asked in amusement. "Well, anyway, when I got home that day, my mom saw it, and she flew off the handle! She was so pissed at me it wasn't even funny! It was like a police interrogation!"

"Wow…I could only imagine…" Leena sighed, looking at the tattoo sadly. "I've never had a mother…"

"What, really?" He asked in surprise, taking the headphones off his head.

"No." She admitted, shaking her head. "She died while she was in labor with me, so I've never met her…sometimes I see my dad staring at an old picture of her that he keeps locked up in a drawer with this sad look in his eyes, and I feel terrible about it…"

"You do know that it isn't your fault, right?" Nikita asked, raising an eyebrow seriously.

She nodded. "Yeah, dad always tells me that…but I still can't help feelin' bad…"

"Hey, I know how ya feel. When my dad left my mom, I automatically thought it was because he freaked out about havin' a family. But, she told me about that dream of his, and I guess I believe her, but sometimes I have my doubts…" He sighed, picking up his CD Wallet, and thumbing through it quickly, before taking out a copy of The Clash's "Combat Rock" album.

"Really? Guess we're both just a couple of cynics…" She sighed, stifling a laugh.

"Yeah, guess you're right…" He said, looking out of his window sadly.

She wrapped her arms around him, and silently fell asleep in his arms, and he did sometime later with his headphones still on, blaring The Clash as loud as the day is long.

Suddenly about half and hour later, a thunderous boom rang out throughout the base, startling everyone in it.

Nikita and Leena both jumped up from their prone positions.

"What the hell was that?!" he bellowed.

Black: All finished! Next chapter, I'll be having an ACTUAL battle scene!

Nikita: YAY! I get to fight! WOO HOO!!!

Black: …Dude, you are an idiot…

Naomi: Do you enjoy tormenting me?

Black: Yeah?

Naomi: ::shakes head in dismay:: Thought so…dammit…

Black: Bye for now! Next chapter will be more action packed! Promise! Until then: REVIEW DAMMIT!!!


	13. Battle on the Dunes: Nikita's Defeat

Here it is, after all this time the fic finally will go on! Sorry for the long wait, but it was due to laziness and all the large projects I had to do.

Nikita: Yeah, you'll have to excuse him, he's lost most of his marbles already!

Naomi: (sigh) yep, he's a regular nutjob!

Black: HEY!! NOT NICE!!! . Anyway, the fic continues!!

Chapter 13-Battle on the Dunes: Nikita's defeat

Begin Flashback

_This is where it begins, and where it ends…_ Kayla thought bitterly, initiating the startup procedures for the White Panther.

_This is when I become the strongest warrior on the face of Zi, and my asshole of a brother gets what he deserves…_

She piloted it out of the Whale King, and soon found her way to the Blitz Team base.

She sneered an evil sneer that spread to all of her otherwise beautiful and innocent features, and she depressed as hard as she could on all of the weapon triggers.

End Flashback

The base was shaking now from what felt like shells.

Everyone on the team was already up and running to the hangar, with Nikita and Bit in the lead.

"Dammit, why'd this hafta happen now?! I was havin' the best dream!" Bit huffed as he started to pick up speed.

Nikita growled. "I dunno…this thing just don't feel right…almost as if its something _evil_…"

"It's probably just another faction of the Backdraft Group or some bandits or something!" Jamie sighed from behind them, grabbing the call key to his zoid out of his pocket.

Brad shook his head. "No, I agree with the kid. It doesn't seem right. This thing's got someone's stink all over it…and it sure as hell don't smell good, either…"

All of them quickly jumped into their zoids, and secured themselves into their crash belts.

[Alright team, get out there and teach this bastard a lesson!] Doc shouted over the intercom unit from inside the base.

Nikita sighed, and put on some sunglasses to shield his eyes from the sunlight of dawn (A/N: The base is facing east.)

The doors slowly yawned open, revealing one small zoid on the horizon. Painted white with red trim, and shaped almost exactly the same as Nikita's Black Jackal, and armed with an AZ-30mm special laser vulcan gun, and a pair of blades.

"What the hell is that?" He muttered to himself, increasing the zoom on the zoid. "White Panther?" He asked, reading the name off the side of the zoid, which had obviously been painted there for a reason.

[So, I guess I finally got you attention…] The pilot cackled evilly. From what he heard, it was a woman's voice, with a very slight British accent.

_That voice…it sounds familiar…_ He thought to himself curiously. _But where from?_

[Who the hell do you think you are?!] Bit shouted angrily. [You interrupted my dream! Now prepare to feel my wrath!]

[Bit Cloud, do us all a favor and shut that sinkhole you call a mouth for a few moments, will you?] The pilot asked irritably.

[Yeah, Bit, calm down! We're all in the same boat here!] Leena added spitefully.

"Who are you?!" Nikita shouted from out of the clear blue sky.

He heard her cackle at that comment.

"Just what the hell's so goddamn funny, coward?" he grunted, after slamming his fist onto the console.

[Sorry, just thinking of a joke…but I've decided to honor your request…] She sighed.

The vid-link on everyone's screens instantly turned on, and then only Nikita knew who it was.

"KAYLA?!! WHAT THE HELL?!!" He exclaimed in surprise.

She smirked, and started chuckling. He noticed that her eyes were now dark black, as if a pair of coals. [Yes, its me…dear brother…]

[What the hell are you talkin' about?!] Bit interrupted, slamming his fist on the console. [Nikita has no sister!]

Kayla waved a finger mockingly, as if scolding him like a small child. [You don' t know anything, do you Bit Cloud?]

"Shut up! You can't be my sister! There's no way you can!!" Nikita bellowed, clenching his eyes shut in anger.

[You know, I thought it was funny when I saw your face on the vid-screen also…you were the first person I had met in that city…] She looked downward at the console, and her expression changed into a saddened one. He thought he saw her eyes fading back to their original brown color. [The first one I ever talked to…I thought I liked you…maybe even loved you…] She looked up, and her expression hardened again, her eyes seemingly glowing back to black. [But, you're also the one I've been searching for…the one I've wanted to find…then one father wants to find so he can execute his revenge on your pathetic teammates…]

"Revenge?!! What are you talking about?!!"

[Doctor Layon…] Bit and Leena growled in unison.

[Why can't you just leave my father alone?! It happened so long ago, and I thought he was over it already!] Leena shouted, her teeth grinding with the newfound rage that washed over her features.

Kayla never even dignified Leena's outburst with a response.

[...And, you're also the one I've wanted to kill for a long, long time...] She sneered, her smirk flashing to everyone in the group.

Nikita slammed his fist on the console of the Jackal. "Fine, then. You wanna go?! Then, you and me right now, one-on-one!"

She shook her head as if she had expected him to say such a thing. [No. You still don't get it, do you, brother? I'm going to decimate you all right here and now!]

Brad chuckled, and started to laugh. [What are you, amateur, some kind of idiot?! There's five of us, and only _one of you!]_

[Oh, believe me, Mr. Hunter, I can definitely take care of myself...] Kayla said, her sneer growing even more than before. [Well, lets get started then, shall we?!]

She opened fire with her AZ 30mm Vulcan Gun, tracing a line across the sand next to their feet, causing them to scatter their zoids in different directions, in a seemingly haphazard kind of way.

[Kid, you take her left, and I'll go for the right! We can box 'er in that way!] Brad shouted over the private comm channel to Nikita.

"Sure, let's do it!"

Nikita and Brad aligned their zoids side-by-side, and started to charge Kayla's zoid, splitting about midway, skidding to a stop on either side of her.

"Oh, trying to box me in, eh?" Kayla muttered to herself, another sneer on her face.

[Now, kid, fire!] Brad shouted, depressing the weapon's triggers on the Shadow Fox.

Nikita nodded, and opened fire with the standard 50mm rifles above him, firing them as quickly as he could.

Kayla made no attempt to move her zoid, and took the brunt of Brad and Nikita's onslaught of bullets, kicking up sand and dust all around them.

"Did we get her?!" He exclaimed after they had fired.

[Yeah, I think so…] Brad muttered.

The dust cleared, and her zoid stood there, almost completely unscathed from their assault.

[What the hell?! What's this thing made out of anyway?!] Brad shouted in surprise.

"Hmph, must be some thick-ass armor…" Nikita muttered. "Luckily, these sniper rifles are using armor-piercing bullets…"

A plan slowly formed in his head.

"Alright…this could work…" He engaged the private comm channel. "Brad, I want you to keep her occupied for me, I'm gonna go set up a sniper point, and take her down with some AP bullets…"

[What the hell are you, crazy?! We don't have that kind of time here!] The mercenary shouted back.

"Just trust me! I need five minutes to set up about a quarter of a mile east of here, okay?"

He heard Brad sigh. [Fine, just hurry up. We can't hold her attention forever.]

"Thanks Brad!" And with that, he tore off into the direct rays of the sun, running as fast as his zoid could without triggering the boosters.

Meanwhile, Jamie's Raynos dove out of the sky at lightning speed, the machine guns howling to life while tracing a line of fire towards Kayla's unsuspecting zoid.

[You're not gettin' away with this, lady!] The Wild Eagle shouted as he opened fire on Kayla.

[Not so fast, flyboy…] She muttered, lining up the Raynos in her sights. Her controls gave her a satisfying "beep" to tell her it was ready to fire, and she did so with extreme prejudice.

Five pinpoint accurate shots hit Jamie's Raynos from her AZ 30mm, knocking the Raynos out of the sky. Somehow, his expertise piloting skills got him to crash-land safely with too much bodily injury.

[You're gonna pay for that you bitch!] Leena bellowed over the comm from seemingly nowhere as she opened fire on Kayla's White Panther with her vulcan cannons.

Kayla smirked, and made no attempt to move her zoid, and decided to catch the full feel of Leena's barrage, kicking up more dust around her.

[Ha! Take that!] She shouted, happily.

The dust cleared, and there was Kayla's zoid, again, completely unscratched.

[Please, don't tell me that was supposed to hurt me…it felt more like a gust of wind…]

Nikita, who had stopped and wheeled around to start sniping, heard Leena growl. [You bitch! Are you some kind of masochistic freak?!]

Nikita ignored their chatter, and deployed the scopes to start aiming at Kayla's Panther.

Leena, meanwhile, shouted, signaling she had had enough. [That's it! See if you can survive this you loser! WEASLE UNIT TOTAL ASSAULT!!!!]

Missiles, bullets, and warheads galore erupted from her zoid's firearms, exploding all around her and Kayla, striking Kayla's zoid with such sheer force that it would have likely split in two.

Nikita, as an instinct, moved his crosshairs closer towards the smoke cloud.

Unfortunately, it didn't. Instead, it was there, completely unscathed as before.

[Godammit!] Leena bellowed in fury.

Kayla shot at Leena's zoid a couple of times, resulting in a system freeze.

Nikita zoomed in up to the maximum magnification on his scopes, and primed his rifles with their bullets. _Time to die…_

His console gave him a satisfying "beep" to tell him that she was locked on, displaying the words, "LOCK" in red underneath his crosshairs.

Suddenly, Kayla appeared in his cockpit, an evil sneer spreading across her face, and her black eyes gleamed with fire, causing him to look away from the scope and at her. [Brother…let's play a game shall we?]

"I don't have time to deal with you, Kayla. I've got to get some sleep…" he grunted as he lined up the leg of her zoid in his crosshairs.

She fired her zoids guns again, quickly incapacitating Bit and Brad's zoids.

[Fine…I guess Leena's death won't have any effect on you…] She sneered.

"What?!" He shouted in surprise.

[Let's see who makes it there first: I'll be performing a Strike Laser Claw, which will slow me down considerably during the charging, and you have your boosters. Can you make it in time with your blades in order to stop me from hurting your precious girlfriend?]

Nikita gasped in fright. "You sick, twisted-"

[Its not nice to insult people brother…I might be tempted just to shoot at her cockpit…and that wouldn't be very nice…] She chuckled.

Nikita gulped down the lump in his throat. He didn't have any choice, he knew Kayla wasn't bluffing. "Okay, I'll play your sick little game. But once this is over, I _will_ kill you…"

[That's a very mean thing to say to your older sister, isn't it Nikita?] She said in a somewhat hurt-sounding tone. [On the count of three, we go…]

Nikita deployed his boosters, removed his scopes and put the sniper rifles back in their place, and got his finger ready on the button to ignite them.

[…3…]

The Jackal quickly moved closer to the ground in order to spring upward faster with the added power of its legs.

[…2…]

He hit the trigger to deploy his blades.

[…1…]

His zoid roared at the challenge.

[…ZERO!!!] She bellowed as she started her zoid towards its destination, Leena's zoid.

He fired the boosters, and his zoid sprang into action, running with god-like speed towards his target; Kayla's White Panther zoid.

Its claws began glowing bright orange, as it went into the charging process for the Strike Laser claw.

The Black Jackal roared again, this time louder than it had before, and its speed almost seemed to increase with the urgency of the situation.

The blades gleamed, and the Jackal's computer registered the attack currently in use: The Twin Blade Attack.

Kayla's zoid was edging closer and closer towards Leena's immobilized GunSniper; Nikita gritted his teeth, and pushed the boosters well beyond their limits.

The White Panther roared at the challenge the Black Jackal posed; each jockeying for position to get to Leena's GunSniper first.

The Black Jackal inched ahead slowly until he was noticeably in front, and the White Panther jumped in order to execute the move.

Nikita's zoid skidded to a halt, sliding on its legs to the side, in an attempt to charge Kayla's zoid in midair.

Before he could straighten out, however, Kayla hit her boosters, using Nikita's zoid as a stepladder of sorts to reach Leena's cockpit with her attack, using the leverage of Nikita's zoid to turn it into a deadly drill of pure energy.

[Thanks a bunch brother!] She exclaimed in a somewhat gleeful and bloodthirsty tone as her zoid's claws inched closer and closer towards Leena's cockpit. [STRIKE LASER CLAWW!!!!!!]

"NOO!! LEENA!!!" He screamed out, his zoids movements suddenly becoming sluggishly slow as he tried to jump upward in an attempt to knock away Kayla's attack.

His efforts were in vain, as the White Panther's claw collided with Leena's cockpit like a punch, the whole neck of the GunSniper snapping to the side, and ripping off in a display of tearing wires and framework and oil, splattering it all over the place like blood.

Kayla cried out in joy, her face appearing on the comm channel on Nikita's frequency only as her zoid landed, and bounded off into the sun. [Thank you, dear brother. Now that my objective is complete, I can go home now!]

Nikita's hands trembled on his controls, and soon his entire body joined in the spasming, until his teeth gritted in pain, and his knuckles began to turn white.

He looked quickly towards where the GunSniper's head had landed, the wires still flailing about and sparking.  He saw that the cockpit glass had shattered, and Leena had been thrown out onto the sand about twenty or thirty feet away, lying in a twisted heap on the dunes.

Nikita let out a scream, and gave chase to her zoid, just as Kayla had predicted, for she had turned around, and armed her blades, and had already started charging him.

Since his blades were still out, he charged her, hitting his boosters so hard he was thrown into the back of his pilot's seat by the sheer force of gravity on his body.

"TWIN BLADE ATTACK!!!!!!" He shouted, his zoid's blades glowing an ominous green color as he moved towards her.

Kayla smirked, and jumped her zoid over his just as he was about to hit her, twisting in midair, slicing the top rifles of his zoid, but failing to knock them off, but cutting some vital circuitry.

His zoid keep moving for a few feet and then stumbled down in a heap.

He struggled with the controls, desperately trying to get his zoid to stand. "C'mon buddy, don't fail on me now…" He grunted.

The console just gave him a message saying "COMMAND SYSTEM FREEZE," and he slammed his fist down on the controls in frustration.

Kayla sneered at his now incapacitated zoid, and decided that at last it was time to leave. She discharged some smoke from her zoids smoke dischargers, and disappeared in the smoke.

When it cleared, she was no where to be found.

[Dammit! Where'd she go?!!!] Bit shouted in surprise.

[I dunno…] Brad said, genuinely surprised. Then something dawned on him, and he opened a private channel to Nikita's zoid. [Kid, are you okay?]

Nikita grunted. "Yeah, I'm fine, unfortunately."

Brad sighed. [Well, that's a relief. But we've gotta go check out Leena's zoid and see if she's alright…]

Nikita nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I'm gettin' out right now…" He sighed as he removed his crash belts and removed his sunglasses, and opened the cockpit.

He jumped out of it, and ran towards the wreck of the GunSniper, skidding to a stop next to Leena's body.

He jumped down, and turned her over on her side. She was unconscious, with many scrapes and cuts on her face, and at least a dozen on her arms, all of which were bleeding. She was also bleeding from her mouth. She also had a cut over her right eye.

"Leena! Leena! Please wake up! Please!" he shouted desperately, tears welling up in his eyes.

"…Ugh…" She groaned softly, her form stirring softly.

"Leena?!" He exclaimed in joy.

"N-Nikita? Is that you?" She whispered, her left eye slowly opening.

He wiped some of the tears from his eyes, and smiled. "Yeah, its me. I'm here…"

She tried to sit up slightly, but quickly went back down after a large pain shot through her entire body. "Oh, damn that really hurt…" She grunted. "I can't move anything without something hurting…"

"Don't worry about it…everything's gonna be fine…" He whispered softly, moving some of her red hair out of her eyes. He turned towards Brad. "Hey, Brad! Call an ambulance!"

Brad shrugged. "Already did, kid. It's on its way." The mercenary said.

Nikita smiled slightly. "Thanks Brad." He turned back towards his hurting girlfriend. "Where does it hurt?"

"A-almost everywhere…I think I must've twisted something from that fall…it hurt me pretty bad…"

"Does anything feel broken?" he asked her, leaning a bit closer to her.

She tried to nod, but grimaced in a painful way when she realized not to do that. "Y-yeah. I think I might've broken my right arm…" She sighed, trying to tilt her head towards her arm.

Nikita looked at it. It didn't look too bad, except for the cuts on it. He decided against touching it.

"It doesn't look broken, but let's not take any chances…how do you feel?" he asked, wiping away some sweat from his forehead.

"I guess so…but I feel a bit strange…" She trailed off. "Feel funny…" She started slipping into unconsciousness as her entire world began to go black.

"Leena! Stay with me!" He exclaimed, trying to keep her conscious. His efforts were futile.

She was out cold.

Black: Well, that's all! The next chapter's already in the works, so expect to hear from me soon! 


	14. Demons of the Mind

Now, the fic is taking a dramatic turn! IT'S ACTUALLY GETTING SERIOUS! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!!

Nikita: Frankly, I don't know how you people can still keep track of what's going on! Even my head is spinning!

Naomi: Nikita, that isn't that difficult…you _are_ the idiot of the group…

Nikita: HEY! NOT FUNNY!! .

Black: Anyway, the fic shall continue!!!!

Chapter 14-Demons of the Mind

It was now around half-past noon.

Leena was in the hospital, being cared for, Bit was helping Brad and Jamie work on the Liger Zero, Raynos, Shadow Fox, and Black Jackal, and Nikita was sleeping.

Doc had finally been able to wrangle a battle for later that day at about six o'clock in the evening, and all of them were under a certain amount of pressure, to pick up the slack for the absence of Leena and her GunSniper…

Nikita was lying on his bed in his room, fast asleep. He was having a nightmare.

It was the same as the night before, but this time, something was a bit different about it.

(A/N: This scene takes place in Nikita's subconscious)

_So, I see you are finally asleep…_ A dark, gruff sounding voice said to his subconscious.

"W-wha? Who is this?" He asked the void around him.

The mysterious voice laughed, its evil laughter echoing throughout his mind.

He lost his fuse in anger. "Who is this?!" He bellowed.

The chuckling stopped, and the voice cleared its meta-physical throat.

_Me? I'm your newest buddy…Nikita Armstrong…_ It said cryptically.

"SHOW YOURSELF!!!" he shouted, clenching his fist in anger.

It gave what sounded like a huff. _You're such a one-track mind. Like a broken record… It snorted. __"Show yourself! Show yourself!!" It mimicked. _Fine.__

There was a glowing light in front of him, causing him to shield his eyes.

When the light disappeared, he looked at what stood before him: a black colored organoid, with evil red eyes, and red streaks in it that looked like bloodstains, with a spiked tail that looked like it could easily rip through metal, and make him look like butter.

_Who am I? You stupid kid…you were better off not knowing…_ The voice said again.

"You're the organoid from my dream!" Nikita said in realization.

The organoid gave him a sarcastic look. _No shit Sherlock. That was just a test, seeing if I could really take control yet, and you still weren't ready. Now, though, it seems something's changed…you're ready…_

"What the hell are you talking about you stupid organoid?!" He bellowed. "Who are you?! I'm not gonna ask you again!"

The organoid gave a sneer, and slowly approached him. _I am Anubis, the Great Killer of Zi._

Nikita's form began shivering uncontrollably.

He had heard myths and legends dating back to the ancient Zoidian days of a great menace to the world, a killer organoid capable of destroying entire villages and killing all of their populations in mere hours. It had been given the name "Anubis" for its terrible bloodlust and evil nature.

"Y-your Anubis? The legendary Organoid Killer?" He stammered, pointing at the organoid in fear.

The organoid gave what looked like a nod. _Yes, I am him. And it's your lucky day, kid, because I'm not going to kill you, just possess your body._

"Why me, huh?!" Nikita shouted, regaining some of his composure.

_Simple, you idiot. In the Afterlife, certain organoids get a change at living life again through a secluded part of a human's brain, helping their human partner in any way they can, mostly through zoid combat._ _I recall you already knowing of three individuals with a similar ability…_

"What the hell are ya talkin' about?! I don't know anyone who's a possessed rag doll!"

_Yes you do. That pilot Jamie Hermeos, whose alternate persona is "The Wild Eagle" as you know him. And then there's your sister, Kayla, who's also possessed by an organoid._

"That's only two people!"

The organoid let the silence brew, and started to laugh again. _You stupid moron! You don't know anything do you?! Why do you think your pathetic human girlfriend had that dream about that red organoid named Ambient?! She's going to be possessed too!_

The fact hit him like an anvil. "S-she's under the power of an organoid as well?"

_Yes, and so's your best friend, Bit Cloud, pilot of the Liger Zero. Zeke possesses him._

Nikita dropped to his knees in metaphorical agony, these new enlightenment's draining the very life out of him. "Why? What will they do once they are finished taking them over?"

Anubis made a growling sound. _You idiot. That pilot named Hermeos is already fully possessed. So is your sister. Leena is almost at the time, and Bit doesn't have much farther to go, either._

Nikita slammed his fist into the floor with all his strength.

_Oh, but don't worry, kid. I know these organoids. Shadow, Zeke, Specula, and Ambient aren't evil. I'm the only evil organoid around…_ It added in a prideful sort or way. _…And the only one who can turn into a human as well…_

"You can turn into a human, too?" Nikita mused in false wonder. He started jumping up and down in place like a giddy schoolgirl to show the sarcasm in his actions. "Oh! Oh! Can you show me?! Pleeeeeeeeease?!"

The organoid glared at him. _Man, what a dickhead…_ It muttered. _Okay, fine, I'll do it if you shut up._

"Deal."

Anubis glowed again, and turned into a black-haired young man with fire red eyes and what seemed like thousands of scars on his body. He was dressed in the traditional Ancient Zoidian robes, except they were all black, and a red sash was tied around his waist. On his back was the scabbard of an exceptionally large sword (A.N: Think Buster Sword from Final Fantasy 7, or Sanosuke's Zanbattou in Rurouni Kenshin), and attached to the red sash were two daggers in black sheathes made out of obsidian.

"Happy now?" The man asked irritably.

Nikita was taken aback. _He doesn't LOOK like a psychotic killer…_ He thought uneasily.

"As the saying goes, kid, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Especially with me, or you might just end up dead." He said gleefully, thrusting his thumb at his chest in pride.

"Why do you want to kill?" Nikita asked him, trying desperately trying to comprehend this strange beings goal, much less trying to figure out how Anubis had heard his thoughts.

The man sneered with an ecstatic glow. "I'm gettin' goosebumbs just thinkin' about the answer, kid…but I'll save that explanation for later…"

Suddenly, Anubis gasped in delight, and checked an imaginary watch on his arm.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I think its time that we got this show on the road, eh kid?" He sneered.

Nikita gave him an inquisitive look, wondering what he was plotting. Then, his head was shot with a sudden pain that he had never felt before in his life. He fell to his knees, gripping his head in agony.

Above the ringing in his ears he heard Anubis laughing.  "W-what are you doing to me?!!"

"I'm splicing myself into the rest of your subconscious. Its painful, but enjoyable (if you're me, anyway…)."

Nikita tried to retort to his comment, but couldn't due to the pain burning in his head so great he thought for sure it would split down his skull. He let out a scream, louder than any he had every done before.

Anubis smirked again, this time wider and more psychotic than any he had done previously. "Trying to resist it is useless. I'm much stronger than you." He chided.

Nikita screamed again, and his vision went entirely black.

And so, the fourteenth chapter ends! I hope you all had fun!

Nikita: Yeah, hopefully, Black'll write more soon! Even I'm in suspense!


	15. Returns of Old Friends

Black: Okay! Now things get interesting!

Naomi: Oh my god! You people are still reading this fic?! What's the matter with you?1 Are you people insane! GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!

Black: NAOMI!! STOP THAT CRAZY NONSENSE! (nervously) People…I'm not really that insane…

Nikita: Yeah you are! You're the crazy bastard who put me in this situation in the first place?!

Black: Sheese, fine. Well, if you really REALLY want to torture yourself, then go back to chapter 1 and read the disclaimer. I'm to damn lazy to go back and write it again! NOW ENJOY THE SHOW!!

Chapter 15-Returns of Old Friends

Leena shot awake with a start, cold sweat drenching her body. She had been having a nightmare.

She was still in the hospital, and it was now three o'clock in the afternoon.

Her panting echoed throughout the well-lit room, her chest rising and falling quickly, as her pulse began to slow down.

"That dream…" She sighed as she lay back into her bed with a slight jolt of pain. "It felt so real…"

A thought dawned on her: Nikita was in pain. Not just normal pain, his entire being, his _soul_ even, seemed cry out in agony.

She slowly rose from her bed, finding that she had to limp on her legs to walk without too much pain. She limped over towards the windows, and pulled the curtains back for her to look.

She was currently on the sixth floor of the New Helic City Hospital. Even though Tidus City was closer to the base, Tidus City lacked proper health facilities.

It was sunny, and birds were singing, and people were walking down the streets laughing and joking with one another. Children were playing outside their apartment buildings with their friends, and their older siblings sat around discussing everything from politics to music to zoid battles.

_I can't help him, he's got to take this thing on all on his own, whatever it is…besides, I'm no healer. I'm just a zoid warrior anyway._ She thought, staring out of the window onto the street.

There was a knock on her door, causing her to turn around sharply. "Come in." She said quietly.

A blonde-haired nurse walked in.

"Um, Miss Toros?" The nurse asked timidly.

Leena turned around. "Yes?"

"Um…" The nurse clutched her clipboard biting the bottom of her lip in nervousness.

"What is it?"

"It's regarding your injuries…um, please, sit down…" She said, gesturing to the bedside.

Leena gave her a quizzical look, and sat down, her one uncovered eye showing concern.

The nurse bit her bottom lip again, and pulled up a chair in front of her. "Um…I assume the doctor visited you after you awoke…?"

Leena slowly shook her head. "Nope. I just woke up. What's going on?"

"Well, as you know, you were brought in in pretty bad shape. Broken arm, twisted ankle, gash over the eye, not to mention at least a dozen more in places all over your body…"

Leena nodded impatiently, and snorted slightly. "Yeah, I know all that already! Tell me something I don't know!!"

The nurse flinched. "Sorry." Leena sighed dutifully.

"Its okay." She said, smiling slightly. "Anyway, as I was saying…you are going to make a safe recovery…but there was nothing we could do about your eye…"

Leena almost fell out of her chair in surprise. "W-WHAA?!!!"

The nurse bit her lip again. "Sorry, this is my first time doing this…well, the doctor said that your right eye was heavily damaged, and the iris was cut beyond repair…" She shivered involuntarily. "…And he said we had no choice but to remove it…"

Leena gasped in surprise, and desperately tried to open her right eye…but to no avail…they had already stitched it shut from the inside.

She gasped again in fright, and jumped up, ignoring the pain shooting through her leg, and hobbled over towards a mirror.

What she saw there startled her. Her right eye was shut, with a large bandage over it.

"Its probably going to leave a scar…I'm very sorry, Miss Toros…"

Leena's hand slowly moved up towards the bandage, and softly rubbed over it in longing. "Can I at least remove this stupid bandage?" She finally said after a long silence, her voice seemingly out of her body and somewhere else in the room entirely.

The nurse slowly nodded. "Yes, it should be done healing now."

Leena's hands moved slowly and, almost as if they were on their own, started removing the bandage wrapped around her head, and took off the small wool pad covering it.

The nurse was indeed right; there was a large red gash over her eye. The bleeding had stopped, but it still burned with the familiarity of the wound. The freshness of it still reminded her of the reason of why she was here: _Kayla…you're gonna pay for what you did to my eye…_

"Oh! I almost forgot! You've got visitors too!" The nurse exclaimed, her tone almost lightening happily.

Leena turned around, and gave her a smile. "Send them right in." She said as she slowly hobbled back towards her bed to lay down.

The nurse opened the door, and said to someone outside the room, "You can go in now."

Bit, Leon, and Naomi all walked in, Bit holding a bouquet of flowers in his hand from Nikita.

"Hi guys!" She said happily, smiling in an effort to hide the sadness she felt over having only one seeing eye.

Naomi stopped short, and Bit did the same thing. Leon jumped backward in surprise, and look as if he was about to faint.

"L-Leena?!!" Bit shouted in surprise. "What the hell happened to your eye?!!"

Naomi's face had turned ghostly pale, and she looked horrified. "Oh my god…"

Leon, on the other hand, had fainted.

_Back at the Blitz Base…_

Nikita had woken up from his nap, drenched in a sweat, his splitting headache still with him.

"DAMMIT ANUBIS!! STAY OUTTA MY HEAD!!!" he shouted, gripping his head in agony.

Suddenly, his vision turned red, and he seemingly lost control of his body for a second. Then, his vision returned to normal.

His breathing was slow and labored, and he was panting like he had run the marathon.

He rose slowly from his spot on the floor, his knees suddenly calm and steady, and changed into some workout clothes. He grabbed a combat knife from his dresser, and ran it across his long mane of brown hair, slicing each strand easily. His hair fell to the floor like brown rain, falling slowly to the earth as it descended peacefully like a group of feathers.

He ran the knife up the back of his hair to even it out, and ran his hand through the top to make it stand up in separate spikes.

He smirked at the mirrors reflection, and grabbed his Walkman, and opened the door to leave his room.

Brad and Jamie, who had come to hear what Nikita's shouting had been about, looked at him with surprised expressions.

"Nikita?!!!" Jamie shouted.

"What the hell'd ya do to yourself, kid?!" Exclaimed an equally surprised Brad.

Nikita's smirk grew. "I gave myself a haircut. That's all." He said, his tone somewhat different.

He walked out of the small room, leaving a very confused Brad and Jamie to look at each other in curiosity, and get a broom to clean up the hair all over the floor.

"Brad, is it just me, or did his eyes look different?" Jamie asked suddenly.

Brad stopped what he was doing…and began to think. "Yeah, they looked red. Did he get red contacts or something?"

_Back at the hospital…_

Now that Leon had woken up, and everyone else wasn't so surprised to see the large gash over Leena's eye, they began to ask how she was feeling.

"I'm okay, guys. Just slightly crippled." She said, putting a smile on her face. _And only in possession of half my sense of sight…_ She thought spitefully. "Um…where's Nikita?"

"He's taking a nap. Doc got us a battle for later and he wants to rest up for now." Bit said.

"Oh…" She said in a disappointed sounding tone.

"But…" He added slyly. He held up the bouquet of flowers, and smiled. "He did send you these."

Leena's eye lit up in happiness and she grabbed the card in the flowers.

"Hey, hope you're feeling better. I hope that she didn't hurt you too bad! Maybe you could move in with me after you're better? How's that sound? Love, Nikita."

Leena's jaw dropped, and her eye almost welled up in happy tears. "YES! ALRIGHT!!"

Bit smiled in embarrassment. "Yeah, I guess that did the trick…" He muttered to Naomi and Leon.

Both members of the Flugal team smiled. "Well, when do you think they'll allow you out of here, sis?" Leon asked.

"I think the nurse said all my injuries were taken care of, so I can leave pretty soon actually."

"Great!"

_Back at the base…_

Biff. Bam. Biff. Bam. Biff.

Those were the only sounds emitting themselves from the weight room, besides the slow breathing, which seemed to escalate only when pushed to what seemed his limit.

Brad and Jamie were both standing at the entrance to the weight room, watching Nikita spar against the punching back, hitting it with such force that shouldn't have been possible from such a young man.

Nikita though, was off in his own little world, and had no clue they were there. He had his headphones on, and was currently blasting Korn's "Untouchables" CD at full blast, with the bass on full as well.

He hit it harder, ducking and bobbing out of the way of invisible punches thrown by an invisible opponent, counterattacking whenever the invisible opponent let his guard down.

He started adding kicks to the routine, now going for hurting the invisible fighter as much as possible, weakening his reserves even more.

He jumped, and gave it one final kick, hitting it with such force that the bag ripped off of its chain, and flew across the room, smacking into the wall ten feet away, and spilling sand everywhere.

Brad and Jamie's eyes opened wide in surprise, but both were too stunned to even say anything.

Nikita stared at his hands, and flexed them, the sound of cracking bone and cartilage echoing throughout the room.

"Well…at least I can keep my strength…even if it is for short periods of time…" he muttered to himself.

He suddenly dropped to his knees, gripping his head in agony. "STAY OUTTA MY HEAD YOU BASTARD!!!" He yelled in his normal tone.

"STUPID KID!" he yelled again, this time in a different tone. A darker one. "STOP RESISTING! ITS ALREADY TOO PAINFUL FOR YOU!"

"NO! NOT AS LONG AS THEY'RES BREATH IN MY BODY!" He screamed again in his normal tone.

"FINE! YOU WANT ME TO ERASE YOUR ENTIRE MIND?!!" The darker tone yelled again, this time with more of a desperate plea to his shout.

Brad and Jamie already decided that whatever the hell was going on with him, they had better try and help. Both quickly ran over to him, and started shaking his shoulders slowly, trying to get him out of his hysteria.

"Kid! Kid! Stop shouting! Its Brad and Jamie! We're here to help you!" Brad shouted, desperately shaking Nikita's shoulders.

Jamie tried too, but both back away a few steps quickly when Nikita started growling and snarling like an animal, emitting tortured cries like a wounded wolf.

"Damn, this isn't working." Jamie muttered.

Brad smirked. "I know a way."

He stalked over to Nikita's form, which was now quivering on the floor, and picked him up by the collar of his shirt, and socked him once in the face. "SNAP OUT OF IT KID!!" he shouted in his face.

Nikita stopped screaming, and his eyes seemingly changed back to brown. He was panting and sweating like he had run a race, but his entire body was cold like death.

"T-thanks, Brad. I think he's gone now…" He stammered fearfully.

"Who's 'he?'" Jamie asked curiously.

Nikita sighed. "I can't tell you. You wouldn't understand."

"Of course we would, kid." Brad said, slowly putting Nikita back down on his feet. "Just tell us…"

"…No. I'm not sure I want to. I really don't even know what's going on myself." He sighed, dusting himself off. "Thanks for snapping me out of it, Brad."

"No problem kid."

Suddenly, the base began shaking from what felt like shells landing on the armored walls.

"Shit! Not again!" Nikita shouted. "Hasn't she done enough already?!!"

"Team, I need you guys out there right now!" Doc's voice shouted over the comm unit. "Nikita, its not Kayla. Someone else's here, and they're in a Genosaurer!"

"HOLY SHIT!!" he shouted, suddenly running towards his zoid to see who it was.

Brad and Jamie both belted after him in an attempt to get into their zoids too.

Nikita quickly jumped into the cockpit once they reached the hanger.

"Kid, I'm sorry to tell ya this, but you're rifles are outta commission right now." Brad said as they all secured themselves in their cockpits.

Nikita's eyes widened in fear. "SHIT!! NO RIFLES?!!!"

"Yeah, we were just about to fix them before you shouted and we came running." Jamie interjected. "Sorry."

"Ah, its okay. I understand." _Okay, no rifles, which means basically no long range combat…I'll have to stick with the blades…_

They all ran their zoids outside, Nikita finding that the boosters were also off-line.

There on the sand stood a lone Genosaurer, its black paint glistening in the sun. It had the Backdraft group marking on its side.

"What the hell??!!" Brad shouted in surprise. "How the hell can you guys be here?!!!"

The pilot cackled evilly, and his face appeared on the view screen.  He was older, with goggles covering his eyes (A/N: Like those guys who piloted the Genosaurers in the episode where they try and kill the Berserk Fury with them), and had short black hair.  "You dirty Blitz Team bastards!!" he shouted angrily. "I'm going to kill every last one of you, even if you kill me too!"

"Wait a second! How can there even be a Backdraft group anymore? I thought they disbanded!" Jamie shouted in surprise.

Normally, this wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but since their Zoids had been damaged and barely repaired since their battle with Kayla that morning, this would be a tricky battle to win, especially against a Genosaurer.

The pilot only responded by firing at Jamie's Zoid, knocking out of the sky quickly enough for a system freeze on Jamie's Raynos.

The pilot sneered again. "Okay, who's next?"

The Shadow Fox roared, and charged the enemy head on, firing wildly with its AZ 30mm Vulcan gun, hitting nothing but sand as the pilot jerked his Genosaurer out of the way.

Brad shouted, and fired again, catching the Genosaurer in its leg, but failing to do any significant damage.

The Genosaurer fired its cannons, hitting Brad's Zoid full on, and giving it too a system freeze.

_Shit, I'm the only one left…_ Nikita thought grimly.

The pilot began to laugh again, and shot a few times at the Black Jackal, making Nikita jumped and dodge his Zoid out of the path of the shots.

He deployed the blades, and started to charge his opponent, the blades charging with green energy. "FINE! YOU WANNA DIE THAT BAD?!!" he shouted.

The pilot smirked…he had seen this coming…

"TWIN BLADE ATTACK!" he bellowed, running his Zoid next to the Genosaurer in an effort to cut off its leg.

Just as the blade came close to the Genosaurer, the enemy pilot secured his foot-bindings, and used his boosters to slowly turn the Zoid around and out of harms way, also grazing the Jackal with one of his Zoids claws.

His Zoid snapped off of its legs, and flew fifty feet away only to land on its side with a system freeze.

"Well, now that was easy, wasn't it? You Blitz Team bastards must be going soft…" The pilot laughed evilly.

Nikita was struggling with the controls, trying to reawaken his Zoid. "C'mon, Jackal, wake up! Wake up!"

Sorry… it whimpered softly. I can't move…

The Genosaurer slowly walked over, leering in pride over the wounded Jackal Zoid. "Well, since you were so gracious in offering yourself up, you'll die first, kid…"

He aimed his rifles down towards Nikita's cockpit, and smirked again. "See you in hell bastard…"

Just as the pilots fingers tightened on the triggers, a red blur suddenly moved by his Zoid and the Genosaurer faster than the speed of light itself, and landed about sixty feet away.

The Genosaurer's arm slid off of its body, circuitry and wires splitting and flailing.

Nikita looked up, wondering who this new savior was, much less why they were saving him.

In the distance, with its back turned, was a red Blade Liger, with its blades deployed, looking backward at the Genosaurer, who now had turned to face its new assailant.

"Who the hell are you?!" The Genosaurer pilot bellowed loudly.

The pilot of the Blade Liger didn't dignify him with an answer.

"Fine then, take this, hotshot!" The Backdraft warrior shouted.

The Genosaurer's mouth opened, and Nikita knew what was coming next.

The pilot of the Blade Liger must have too, for they had started charging the Genosaurer at full steam, the boosters deploying and firing.

The energy of the blast gathered in the rifles barrel.

"DIE!!!" The Genosaurer's pilot bellowed, firing the Charged Particle Gun.

The Blade Liger, which had almost made it to point-blank range of the Genosaurer, back flipped over the energy of the blast, and twisted itself around as it slashed its back with its claws, like a cat clawing down a curtain. And it made a skidding landing right behind it.

The Genosaurer stumbled forward a few feet, and collapsed with a system freeze.

Nikita opened up his cockpit, and so did the other warriors.

"Hey, is that Leon?" Jamie asked Brad.

Brad shook his head. "No, I don't think so…"

Nikita got up, and staggered over towards the red Blade Liger, which was bending downwards so its cockpit was low to the ground.

"Hey, who are you?!" He shouted into the cockpit.

The cockpit opened with a hiss, and out jumped a figure.

The figure was a young woman about Nikita's age with long dark blonde hair, slightly tanned skin, and black sunglasses covering her eyes. She was dressed in a blue dress with green sleeves, and white boots. Attached to her back was the scabbard of a broadsword with and intricate hilt design of a bright yellow head of a phoenix and a ruby in its mouth.

"Hey! You guys are the Blitz Team, right?!" She shouted, jumping down from her Blade Liger.

"See, I toldja it wasn't Leon…" Brad muttered.

Jamie was totally awestruck. "Wow…"

"Yeah, why?!" Nikita asked, slowly walking over towards the stranger.

She didn't respond, and her jaw dropped. "No fucking way…" She muttered.

She removed the sunglasses from her eyes, revealing vivid blue eyes that shined the glint of the sun. "N-n-no fucking way!"

Nikita's jaw also dropped. "No freaking way…"

Both stood still for seemingly hours, and then ran towards each other in a happy and wide embrace, laughing hysterically.

"Nikita?! Is this really you?!" She shouted happily.

"Dammit, this is too crazy! Erin, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"I had to find the Blitz Team for an errand, but I didn't expect finding you here!" She said as they both jumped away from each other.

(A/N: Ok, right now, I'm gonna clear things up. This character ain't mine and never will be. She's owned by Red Phoenix, a fellow author. Also, they aren't former boyfriend or girlfriend, and never will be. This is not a potential pairing. They're just good friends.)

"Really? What kinda errand?" He asked inquisitively.

"Oh, I had to deliver Doctor Toros something from the library." She said in a very matter of fact tone.

"The one in New Helic City?!"

"Hey, kid, are ya gonna introduce us to your friend here, or are we gonna stand here at talk all day?" Brad grunted.

"Oh sorry!" He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Guys, this is my friend, Erin Prazan. She's a Zoid warrior and an expert on ancient Zoidian history, and she works at the New Helic City Public Library."

Brad and Jamie looked deeply confused. "Whatever." Brad said finally.

Both started on their way back into the base, only to be stopped by the sound of a gun clicking behind them.

Everyone whirled around to the see the pilot of the incapacitated Genosaurer, aiming a pistol at Erin with a shaky grip.

"You bastards!" He shouted, switching the safety off on the gun. "Now I accomplish what I set out to do, and because you tried to stop me, you get to die first girly!"

"Hey, watch out, kid!" Brad shouted.

He pulled the trigger, and fired the gun without care.

Erin calmly stood her ground, and waited for the bullet to come to her, and slowly reached for the sword in the sheath on her back.

And then, the sheath fell lifelessly to the ground, for it had changed from the large broadsword it had been into a Japanese katana, a sakabato, or reverse-blade sword, to be exact.

She brought the katana down, and deflected the bullet with relative ease, and in a split second, was almost directly in front of the now trembling assailant.

She slashed three times on his chest, and hit him once more in the shoulder to knock him out, making his eyes roll back into his head as he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Brad and Jamie, meanwhile, were looking on with stunned and totally surprised faces.

Nikita's expression had changed to a smirk as Erin started walking back towards them, carrying her sheath and the unconscious attacker in her arms.

"Jeez, Erin, you're getting rusty." He said, folding his arms across his chest. "What, are you gettin' old or somethin'?" 

Erin suppressed a laugh, and re-sheathed her sword, which had turned back into a broadsword. "No, I'm out of practice, I guess." She sighed, a smile on her face.

Both walked back into the base, leaving a stunned and almost scared Brad and Jamie behind them.

Finally, after taking all of the zoids back into the hanger, they all started to make their way towards the command center where Doc was.

Doc looked totally surprised that this was the warrior that had single-handedly saved his team, much less by the fact that she knew Nikita better than he did.

"You're Doctor Steven Toros, right?" She asked, pointing at him.

Doc nodded. "Yes. Are you the courier the library sent?" He asked, looking at her sword fearfully.

Erin nodded. "Yeah. I've got the stuff you asked for. "A collectors Guide to Zoid model kits Edition V", right?"

Doc nodded. "Yes, that's what I asked for."

Erin reached into a pouch on her dress, and took out the book, and handed it to him. "Its due back in a month. Don't lose it, please."

Doc meanwhile, was too busy hugging the book happily, crying out, "Yay! I finally can track down an Ultrasaurus model kit!"

He flipped through it for a few minutes, gave an excited cry, and wrote some stuff down on a nearby piece of paper. Then, he handed the book back to Erin. "Okay! I'm finished!"

Everyone (even Erin) face-faulted, landing on the floor with a thud.

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU CALLED ME HERE ALL THIS WAY JUST TO HAVE YOU HAND ME THE BOOK BACK TO ME?!!!!!!!!! WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?!!!!!!" Erin screeched, looking like she was ready to tear off Doc's head.

Doc whimpered slightly. "But New Helic City is so far away! Besides, you got to fight in a zoid battle, didn't you?!!!"

"That's not the point!!" She shouted.

She took a few deep breaths in order to calm herself. "Okay, thanks for your business, Mr. Toros!"

"Hey, since you're here, why don't you join our team for a few days?" He asked, rubbing his chin in inspiration. "We need the manpower anyway…"

"Um…I don't know…" She said, shifting uncomfortably on her feet.

"I'll pay you!"

"DONE!!!" She exclaimed happily. "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" She shouted, jumping up and down in her place excitedly.

"Okay! Well, now that that's taken care of, why don't we get to work fixing the zoids, shall we?" Nikita asked, now fully energized again.

"Alright!" Everyone shouted, as they began to make their way into the hanger.

But before Erin and Nikita made their way into the hanger, he stopped her.

"Erin? I have a tiny question…about ancient Zoidian history…" he asked timidly.

"Sure…what do you want to know?"

"I want to know about Anubis and the possessions of the Afterlife." He said finally, after a small silence.

Erin's face went ghostly white. "Why that?!"

Nikita shifted uncomfortably on his feet, and looked around to make sure that no one was there besides to two of them. "I'm being possessed by Anubis."

Black: Ahh! Possible plot twist! Possible plot twist!

Nikita: BLACK! Stop giving away the plot!

Black: Whoops! Sorry! ^.^;

Naomi: Please, Black, refrain from speaking, or you'll only prove yourself more of an idiot…

Black: Well, screw you too Naomi…oh! And thank you to my two number 1 fans, Red Phoenix and Zoidhawk7! And thank you to Red Phoenix for gracious character donation! And no more characters will be accepted! Thanks for your time everybody!


	16. Help Needed!

Black: YEAH! THAT'S RIGHT!! Chapter 16 is here!

Naomi: o.0 You people are still here??? WHAT ARE YOU, DEMENTED?!! GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN!!

Nikita: AHHH!! AHAHH!!! *runs around screaming in circles*

Black: NIKITA! NAOMI! SHUT UP AND START THE FIC ALREADY!!

Naomi and Nikita: Okay! Okay! Fine! START THE FIC!!

Chapter 16-Help Needed!

Erin's jaw dropped. "No fucking way…" She muttered.

Her entire form was quivering, shaking uncontrollably with fear.

Nikita nodded. "I'm sorry. Its true…"

"W-when did this start happening?" She stammered.

"Today, actually. But he said that he's been in my subconscious my whole life." He sighed, leaning against the door with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

Erin shook herself out of her temporary spell of fear, and took a few calming breaths. "Okay…okay…okay…" She muttered softly, starting to pace slowly around the corridor in a tight circle. "Okay…okay…" She stopped. "Man, this is not good."

"Is there any way that you can boot him out? Like an exorcism or something?" Nikita asked hopefully.

Erin shook her head. "No, this is the prophecy, the one that I feared that would come to life…"

"'Prophecy?' What the hell are you talking about, Erin?" He asked curiously.

Erin took another deep breath, but shook her head. "Its nothing…just something I heard…"

Nikita gave her a death glare. "Erin…" He grunted, his fists clenching involuntarily.

She gave him an embarrassed laugh. "I'll tell ya later…we've gotta get to work repairing those zoids…"

Nikita gave her a look, but decided to let her change to subject. "Okay, but we'll never get those zoids repaired in time!"

At this comment, she gave him a wry smile. "Oh yes we can…we just need to call in the expert…"

"'The Expert?'" He repeated curiously. Then the idea dawned on him. "Oh, yeah! Him!" He exclaimed. "That would certainly help us out…"

Erin looked at her watch. "Hm…its about 3:45…the battles at six, right?"

Nikita nodded. "Yeah, six on the dot."

She thought for a minute, and nodded. "Yeah, he should be free by now. He hasn't been doing much besides working as a freelance zoid repairman, anyway…"

"Cool, that should work." He stated as they started on their way into the hanger where the zoids where parked.

"Okay, I'll be back in like half an hour, with him, my stuff, and probably his zoid. Can you hold out until then?" She asked, opening the door, but turning back at him, cocking an eyebrow.

He nodded. "Yeah, sure. As long as we can fight, I'm good."

She smiled at him, and waved slightly. "Toodles." She said, as the door shut behind her, and she got into her zoid, and ran off to find "The Expert."

Nikita, on the other hand, decided to go get changed into something else before he started to help out the rest of the team with the zoids.

_Half an hour later…_

"Nikita, pass me that socket wrench?" Brad asked Nikita from underneath the Shadow Fox's belly.

Nikita picked up the tool, and handed it to him. "Here ya go."

"Thanks, man." He said, screwing in the last bolt to seal it up again. He slid himself out from underneath the Fox, and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Man, how the hell are we gonna do this? We still have to repair the Liger, the Raynos and the Jackal!"

"Don't worry so much about it, Brad! We can do it!" Bit said enthusiastically.

Brad glared at him. "No we can't, you optimistic doofus. We're royally screwed, and that's that."

Bit glared at him, and stuck up the middle finger at him, and then went to go fetch something from the toolbox.

"I love you too, Bit." Brad said in sarcasm, making extra sure the blonde-haired warrior could hear him.

"Guys! C'mon!" Jamie interrupted. "Stop being so negative, Brad!"

Brad gave Bit another death glare, and both muttered, "Whatever." And then went about their business.

Nikita sighed, and closed his eyes in thought. _C'mon Erin…where are you?_

Suddenly, all of their heads snapped up when they heard a red Blade Liger skid to a stop into the base, followed by a black Gustav with a trailer on its back with a zoid covered with a blue tarp on it.

Nikita's eyes gleamed hopefully, and he ran to the Gustav and the Blade Liger when they had come to a full stop.

The Blade Liger's cockpit opened up, and Erin jumped out, a duffel bag in her left hand, and a wrapped up bundle on her back in addition to the broadsword, and another duffel bag in her right hand.

"I'M BAAACK!" She exclaimed, dropping the duffels to the ground. "And I brought some help for you guys!"

The cockpit of the black Gustav opened, and out jumped a man about Nikita's age dressed in blue jeans, a green T-shirt, and black Converse high-tops. He had hazel eyes and red hair which was covered with a backwards Yankee cap, and had on black finger-less gloves.

"Okay, what needs fixin' around here?" He shouted, looking around the base wildly.

Nikita looked at him oddly for a second, and spoke. "Tim?"

The boy looked at Nikita in surprise. "Nikita? That really you man?"

They both seemingly stared at each other for a few minutes, and each charged the other, and slapped five, laughing in hysterics.

"Oh my freakin' god! Nikita, what the hell are you doing here you crazy bastard?!!!!" Tim shouted in surprise. "I thought you moved out towards the country!"

"I did! But I got a spot on the team, so I live here now!!" He exclaimed, equally as happy at seeing his old friend.

Tim backed away for a second, and raised an eyebrow. "Dude, what the hell happened to your hair?"

Nikita chuckled sheepishly. "Don't ask, Tim, just don't ask…"

"So, you think we should quit the talking and get to work?" Erin asked impatiently, tapping a foot on the ground.

Tim nodded. "Yeah, sure, just let me go back to the Gustav and get my-"

Nikita cut him off. "I already put one out for you. Do you trust my judgment?"

Tim's eyes nearly welled up in tears.  "YOU HAVE YOUR CD'S TOO??!! ALRIGHT!! THIS IS GONNA BE SOO MUCH FUN!!!"

Nikita chuckled again. "Yeah, I figured that's what you'd say…"

He walked over to the radio that they kept in the hanger, and put in a copy of the album "Year of the Spider" by Cold, and then turned up the volume so they could all hear it.

…And so began the major work on all the zoids…

_One hour later…_

Nikita wiped away the beads of sweat that had collected on his face, and screwed in place the last bolt that would finish up the Liger Zero's repairs. "Whew! All done." He sighed as he slid out from underneath the zoid, and onto his feet.

_Meanwhile…_

While Nikita had been helping out fixing up all the zoids, Leena had been sleeping in her room, trying to figure out what was going on with Nikita.

_I know that whatever he's going through has a lot to do with us having the same dream…those dreams weren't just any old dream or nightmare…that was something terrible…_

There was a knock at the door, jarring her thoughts. "Who is it?"

"Is this Leena's room?" A female voice asked.

"Yeah, who wants to know?" She asked threateningly.

"Its Erin Prazan, I'm a friend of Nikita's…"

She blinked curiously. "Sure, come in…" _What does she want I wonder…?_

The door opened, and Erin walked in, smiling. "Sorry, I just wanted to meet you…its not often you get to join the Blitz Team for a few days…"

Leena smiled. "Oh, you're a newbie?"

Erin looked at her funny. "No, just new to the team. Doc hired me cause he said we needed manpower…"

"Yeah, cause I got injured…" Leena muttered bitterly.

Erin looked slightly confused. "Um, is something the matter?"

Leena sighed. "No, nothings the matter."

Erin gave her a look, one that said, "Don't bullshit me."

She sighed. "Whatever." She said as she got up to leave. 

Now Leena was confused. "Why are ya leaving?"

"I just remembered, that I have to move my stuff into one of the rooms…" She said as she opened the door to leave. "It was very nice meeting you, Leena." She said as she walked out of the room.

Leena looked deeply confused. "What a strange girl…"

Black:…And so ends another chapter…

Naomi: …

Nikita: …

Black:…uh…okay…whatever…um, review, and wait for the next chapter!


	17. Battles of the Mind, Body, and Soul

Black: No random comments now! Jumping right into the story!! ^.^;

Chapter 17-Battles of the Mind, Heart and Body

Nikita stretched in anticipation for the battle to come.

It was now almost time, and they were at the location selected by the other team, called the Nova Team, manned by a Command Wolf, two Lightning Saixes, and two Blade Ligers.

He jumped into the cockpit of the Jackal, and grinned. "Well, Jackal, time for our first actual zoid battle. Ready buddy?"

The Jackal roared that he was.

Nikita put the "Year of the Spider" CD into the CD tray in the Jackal's stereo, and his zoid was thrown out of the Hover Cargo.

Soon, both teams were staring each other down on the desert sands; each filled with energy that this was the first battle of their zoid battling careers this season.

The judge capsule slammed into the ground from above with the force of a bomb.

{WARING!! WARING!! THE AREA WITHIN A THRITY KILOMETER RADIUS IS NOW A DESIGNATED ZOID BATTLEFIELD!!} The Judge blared loudly from its capsule frantically, its metal arms waving frantically. {The Nova Team versus the Blitz Team! No time limit!  Battle mode: ZERO, NINE, EIGHT, TWO! Ready…}

Nikita gripped his controls tightly, but his arms suddenly felt weird…as if they weren't his own…but he paid it little mind, as the battle would take his full concentration and energy…

{FIGHT!!!}

Both teams scattered; each firing wildly at the other, in a desperate hodgepodge of a strategy to get away from the other teams shots.  But suddenly, the Nova Team's zoids seemed to formulate a plan, and the Blade Ligers dodged and returned fire frantically, while the Saixes were running themselves around the battlefield itself, and the Command Wolf was suddenly nowhere to be found!

[Nikita!] Brad shouted over his comm. [You and Erin have to take out those Blade Ligers!! Jamie's got his hands full trying to find that Command Wolf and me and Bit gotta keep these Lightning Saixes at bay here!]

Nikita nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I understand." He said, taking a few deep breaths.

_No way I'm scared…there's just no way I can be scared…not after all that training…not after all this time…_ He thought.

He turned his zoid towards the direction of the Blade Ligers, who seemed to be fleeing the area.

"Erin!! We've got to take out those Blade Ligers pronto!" He said over their private comm channel.

She nodded. [I hear ya!]

They both ran their zoids in the direction of the Blade Liger's, who now knew that they were being pursued. The enemy zoids hit their boosters, and roared at the challenge that Erin and Nikita posed.

Nikita gritted his teeth, and smirked. "OH NO YOU DON'T!!" He shouted as he hit his boosters, and soared over the sand after them, seemingly closing the gap in mere seconds as fired on them with his 50mm rifles.

Erin followed suit, hitting her boosters and firing wildly along the path of the enemy's feet, in an attempt to make the enemy zoids lose their balance.

Their attempt failed however, as the Blade Ligers not only moved out of the way, but turned themselves around skidding, and hit their boosters again to re-align themselves, and charged them, deploying their blades again.

Nikita and Erin both quickly hit their blade switches, each hoping the blades would deploy in time, and they did.

Both sets of blades crashed against one another with ferocity and energy, both pilots straining their zoids blades against the other's.

Finally, Nikita decided to try a strategy, and parried the enemy Blade Liger's blade, and made the Jackal jump backward a few hundred feet, and fired on the enemy again with his 50mm rifles.

The enemy Blade Liger put up its shield in defense, and the onslaught failed, making Nikita think of a different strategy…

Meanwhile, Jamie was desperately trying to find the lone sniper Command Wolf that had seemingly vanished from the battleground.

"Dammit, not here either…" The Wild Eagle muttered to himself.

All of a sudden, the Raynos shook with the massive force of an attack from below and slightly to the left, making The Wild Eagle increase his speed and bank steeply to the right to get a better view of his assailant.

Behind a rock formation and armed with a high-powered sniper rifle, was said Command Wolf.

"Damn you!" Wild Eagle shouted, diving in for an attack run, letting his machine guns howl to life from the Raynos' belly.

The zoid took the brunt of the assault, but managed to get off one last desperate shot before its system froze.

That shot hit the Raynos right in its left wing, which had already been damaged from the last attack, causing the Raynos to go into a nose-dive and crash-land safely.

[Oh shit!! JAMIE!!] Bit shouted as the Raynos took a dive.

[BIT!! PAY ATTENTION!!] Brad bellowed loudly, making Bit look up in surprise, and move his Liger Zero out of the way of a rifle shot from one of the Lightning Saixes.

Bit charged the enemy zoid again, and one of the Lightning Saixes shot at his zoid again, giving it a system freeze. He slammed his fist down on his console in anger. "SHIT!!"

Brad sighed, and kept firing on the two zoids, keeping them just far enough away not to try anything but evasion tactics.

Suddenly, Brad got an idea…

Meanwhile, Nikita had deployed his Weasel Unit missile pods, and had aimed them into the sky.

"Erin! I need you to keep those Blade Liger's at bay for me for five seconds!"

[WHAT ARE YOU?! CRAZY?!" She exclaimed in surprise. [I'll be slagged! There's no way I can hold them off for that long, especially by myself!]

"Erin, if there's any pilot in the world that can do it, its you…I just need you to run away in a straight line from the enemy and lead them away, okay?

He heard her sigh in frustration, and grunt. [Okay, but not a millisecond more.]

He smiled. "Thanks, I knew I could count on you…"

[Riiiiight…] She mused as she ran her zoid in the other direction. Lucky for him, they decided to take the bait and follow her.

Nikita almost laughed, but instead turned his attention towards the matter at hand.

He told the computer to give him an over head view of the entire battlefield and to identify all legal targets to him.

It did, and designated all of the Nova Team's zoids as targets, as well as his team member's zoids too.

He targeted Erin's Blade Liger in his sights, and pressed the trigger, firing his entire payload of missiles.

The waiting salvo of missiles seemingly paused in midair, and then sailed down towards the earth at horrific speed, arcing so they would turn before they hit the ground, and sail at their target.

Erin, who had been having fairly good luck evading the Blade Ligers, shouted aloud when her computer bleeped that she had been targeted for a missile. "Who the hell's targeting me?!" She cursed aloud, and then looked behind her, and saw all those missiles that Nikita had fired chasing her and the Blade Ligers!

"HOLY SHIT!!" She screamed in surprise, her speed seemingly increasing as her fear increased.

The Blade Liger's chasing her, however, were not fortunate enough to notice said missiles until it was too late…

The missiles hit their zoids with extreme prejudice; exploding and even giving one of the Blade Ligers a system freeze, while heavily damaging the other.

However, three missiles were still chasing her zoid, and now she was getting scared, that is, until all three of them seemingly feel apart in midair, and exploded behind her, causing her to slam on the brakes and stop.

There was the Black Jackal, its blades extended and glowing ominously green, and the smoking missile barrels and boosters.

"Hehehe…thanks Erin. That helped out a lot!" He exclaimed smiling.

[YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU ACTUALLY HAD THE BALLS TO TARGET MY BLADE LIGER!! WHAT IF YOU HAD MISSED?!?! HUH?!] She shouted in anger.

Her shouting was cut off however, as her Blade Liger was shot, and given a system freeze, by the last remaining Lightning Saix that Brad and Bit had failed to take care of.

He charged the assailant, his blades glowing green again, and his boosters igniting, as he attacked so fast his zoid was almost a blur of black shadow.

"TWIN BLADE ATTACK!" He bellowed with fury, slicing along the enemy's legs, cutting them at the knee-joints.

The Saix hit the ground with a boom, its system freezing instantly before it even hit the ground.

He turned his zoid to face the last Blade Liger, which was already stumbling for its footing. Its bright metal paint was dented in and burned.

He suddenly heard something in his ears…it was faint, but it was still there…it was _laughter_…

"What?!" He exclaimed in surprise, looking from side to side for the source. "Who is that?!"

The laugher grew, until it was a deathly evil howl in his ears, driving him mad with every second of its eerie wail.

He gripped his head in agony, a sudden wave of pain splitting down his skull.

"Ah!" He screamed.

Meanwhile, everyone else heard what was going on.

Erin shivered. "Oh no…" She whispered, a tingle of fear running up her spine. "It's happening…"

"Dammit! Not now Anubis!" He shouted, his head splitting with more agony then before. He slammed his head into the control panel a few times to stop the laughing, to no avail.

In his mind, the dark, blood-colored organoid appeared, and turned into its human form. He wore an eerie smirk on his expression, his face contorted into a mask of pure psychotic glee.

"Hey, kid, its time to play a little game…" He chuckled, taking a step closer to him, and unsheathing one of his black daggers.

In his mind, Nikita fell backward, trying to get away from the homicidal lunatic.

"Get away! I don't want you in my head! Get away from me!!" He screamed in fear, shielding his vision.

Anubis was chuckling, the mask of eerie joy on his face, as he slowly raised the dagger above his head. It gleamed with a flash of bright darkness, and descended, making him scream in agony in real life, his vision going crimson.

After a few moments, he stopped screaming, and slowly he looked up, and smirked, his eyes no longer dark brown, but blood red.

[Nikita?! What was all that screaming about?!?!?] Bit yelled frantically over the comm unit.

His smirk grew. "Nothing…" He said in a calm, yet dark and malicious voice. "Nothing at all…"

To Anubis, that Blade Liger was nothing but a stepping-stone…on the way to his reputation's revival…

He turned the Jackal to it, the pilot of the Blade Liger now thoroughly scared.

He started moving towards it, advancing slowly, and then increasing his speed, like a jackal pouncing on its wounded and defeated prey.

His blades started to glow again, this time turning almost red from the speed that he was going at, as he jumped into the air, and turned so he could slice along the cockpit, cutting the pilot in half while he would do so.

His blade drew nearer, as he gave a horrifying scream of bloodlust, and he cried, "TWIN BLADE ATTACK!!!"

His blades neared the cockpit of the doomed pilot, making the pilot scream in metaphorical agony.

[NIKITA!!!! STOP IT NOW!!!!!!!] Came a sudden shout over his comm from Erin.

He snapped out of his bloodlust, his eyes quickly turning brown. He swerved his blades out of the way at the last minute, slicing along the top of the cockpit and the guns, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter.

He skidded to a stop, shivering at what he had almost gone through with.

Inside his mind, Anubis put the dagger near his mouth, cutting a long gash across the right side of his face, and licking the mixture of his blood and Nikita's blood off of it as well, and then sheathed it again in its proper sheath.

Nikita shivered internally (in his mind), the fresh gash on the left side of his face, still dripping blood onto the ground beneath him.

"W-what did you do to me?" He shuddered, gripping his astral-projected face with his hand.

Anubis smirked. "That, my friend, is what will bind me to you…"

Nikita gave him a look.

"Its an ancient spell that bonds the souls of two beings together in one body…I have connected us via your blood…now whenever you have bloodlust, I'll be there…" He smirked again.

Nikita's eyes widened in fear, and he blacked out, resurfacing in the outside world again.

[Nikita?! Nikita! Say something!] Bit yelled over the comm.

He grunted. He heard Bit and Jamie sigh. [Oh thank god!]

[Nikita…you okay?] Brad asked worriedly.

"Yeah…" He panted. "Yeah…I'm fine…"

In a dark corner of his mind, Anubis laughed, and he put his hand on his cheek, then recoiled slightly when he felt something…_wet…_

He drew his hand away slowly…it was blood…_fresh_ blood…


End file.
